Whimsical Mortality
by Wayward-Assbutt
Summary: Jack Frost was perfectly happy staying seventeen forever; not to young, not to old. But when his staff is stolen he soon finds himself slowly becoming mortal. With the creature that took his staff out for blood, Jack finds his only refuge is Camp Half-Blood. But how can he keep his secret and prevent the Gods finding out about the Guardians? SEQUEL to 'The Thickening Shadows'HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

It was odd to see someone walk _through _Nico. Percy had seen it happen a couple of times, but he had never thought of much of it, after all Nico didn't seem to care. Someone would just run into him by accident, or touch him slightly, and the area that was touched would just turn into blue wisp before settling. It happened a lot seeing as New York was always flurrying with activity. When Percy first saw it happen he had to admit he was freaked out. But then Nico had explained.

"_If you can't see me, you can't touch me," _was all his cousin had replied with.

Percy hadn't tried to pursue the conversation, he respected his cousin's privacy, and to be honest, he had gotten used to people walking through Nico. Because of that fact he didn't notice when Nico would rub his chest and wince slightly. Though Percy was supposed to be super observant due to ADHD, but even he misses things sometimes.

It became a problem when they were on the beach of Camp Half-Blood. The Romans had come over to relax (most of them still had a slight distaste for the sea), but they still attempted to swim. The Camp was empty due to the fact the small amount of campers who were here in winter were up on Olympus. They had the whole camp to themselves.

Percy was already in the water, deep down past camp borders, gone from sight swimming with Frank (who had opted to go as a great white shark). Annabeth sat on the edge of the water with Piper while Jason and Hazel (who had a stronger distaste for the water), sat on towels further up. Leo, on the other hand, was on a sand dune trying to rig and surfboard to become perfectly balanced and balance sustaining.

"Sometimes, I wonder what those two even do down there," Annabeth played with the sand, "last time they were down there for four hours!"

"Probably got caught up in Poseidon's palace," Piper hummed as she enjoyed the sun on her skin, "that place sounds amazing."

"Don't see how anything relating to water can be amazing," there was a light splash as someone appeared next to Annabeth.

"Zeus' beard!" Annabeth cursed as she squinted up into the sun and saw Nico stepping out of the water, shaking out his soaked boots, "there aren't even any shadows here!"

"Perks of being believed in," Nico shook out his shoes, before adding sarcastically "thanks for the invite."

Jason called from the beach, "you said you were busy with North!"

"That wasn't of my own free will," Nico pointed out as he moved further up the beach, seating buckets in his dark clothes. Seeing as it was winter outside the camp borders, Nico had stepped up the clothing, "he's so stressed over Christmas- even though it's ten months away that even if I told him I was dying he would still drag me to do something for him."

"That's what you get for being friends with Santa," Nico rolled his tense shoulders.

"Besides, I thought you hated the beach?" Hazel commented as she smiled up at her brother.

"There's that as well," Nico riffled through his bag looking for something lighter to wear, "I'll be back."

Climbing up the sand dunes, he passed Leo, who was busy drilling holes into the surf board. Heading into the main _U _of cabins, Nico headed towards his. After four years, it still hadn't been touched by a living soul. Campers claimed it was haunted by his ghost. Others said whoever entered would be cursed with the bad luck of Hades for fourteen years. How the rumours started, Nico had no idea.

Digging through his draws, he found a pair of knee length shorts. Slipping them on, he found them a little tight, but not too uncomfortable. He took off his combat boots and stuffed them into his bag, opting to go bare foot. Changing his jacket and long sleeved shirt for a slightly burnt black short sleeved shirt, he headed back down the beach.

Just as he began to walk towards Hazel and Jason again, someone walked through him. After nearly three years he was used to being walked through, it still hurt when it happened, but the pain had become unimportant. But this time it felt as if he was being burnt from the inside out. With a cry of pain he dropped to the sand, gripping his chest, breathing so fast due to pain that he would've passed out if he was mortal. The pain continued to radiate more and more, spreading through his limbs. Wisps of blue floated around him, not yet returning to his form. As another wave of pain passed through him, he did pass out, and for that, he was grateful.

"Ni-" Hazel began to yell, but Jason elbowed her hard.

"Lord Neptune," Jason stood up and bowed to the god of messengers, trying to ignore Nico, who had collapsed in the sand. Part of Jason's brain was trying to process what he had just seen. Neptune had walked _through _Nico, making the son of Hades disperse completely into a blue wisp before passing out, form still flickering blue.

"Ah, Jason Grace," Neptune held out a hand to be shook, "I don't believe I've met you in this form."

Jason resisted the urge to say _yeah, I certainly would remember a Hawaiian shirt like that, _but instead just shook his hand.

"I guess I should call you Lord Poseidon then," Jason gave an uneasy smile which Poseidon took for nervousness.

"You can drop the lord part, Centurion," Poseidon cast his gaze to the sea, watching as a set of waves rippled closer to the shore, and parted to show a completely dry Percy and Frank, "Son."

"Oh, hey father," Percy replied.

The Romans found it unnerving how laid back Percy was.

"What happened to-" Percy gasped, and was about to rush forward to Nico, but Annabeth gripped his arm and pinched him hard, "-that yellow Hawaiian shirt you had? I liked that one."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Nico the past year had stressed the dire importance of not letting the gods find out about him. They couldn't just rush forward to help him. Poseidon hadn't come down in the last shower, he would know something was up.

"Oh, Amphitrite burnt it. Apparently it wasn't fitting for the King of the Sea," Poseidon smiled, crow's feet around his eyes crinkling, "I do believe you and I had something to discuss?"

Percy's gaze flickered to Annabeth then to Nico before finally landing on his father, "yeah, thanks for making the time. Maybe we could do it in private?"

"Of course,"

Everyone winced as Poseidon went back the way he came and his sandal clad foot ran through Nico's chest. The son od Hades shuddered and seemed to try and curl in on himself. As soon as the father and son were out of of sight, everyone rushed to Nico, kneeling next to him with worry.

"Did he just get walked through?" Hazel brushed hair from her brothers brow in a caring fashion.

"How is that even possible?" Leo questioned as he cocked his head to the side, "his he wearing shorts?"

"Let's just get him out of this sun. His cabins abandoned, right?" Piper cut off any other conversation.

"We can't risk Nept- I mean Poseidon- seeing him- or not seeing him," Jason muttered, "he'll just have to go under the umbrella."

Frank was the one to carry him over. They laid him down on a towel under their large beach umbrella. Hazel began attempting to wake her brother, but he was dead to the world.

"This can't be good," Annabeth murmured to herself, "Jason, can you tell the winds to get Jack? Its winter, he should be close by," she said to Jason, who nodded.

"How do you know so much about Jack?" Leo commented with a little wink.

"I talk to him," Annabeth rolled her eyes as she brushed strands of hair out of her eyes, "he and Nico go with Percy and I too the movies sometimes."

"Of course," Leo said with a smirk, "how could I not know that?"

Up on the hill of Camp Half-Blood, Jason had crossed the border and contacted the winds. Usually, they only payed him heed if he was angry or feeling particularly powerful. He had felt silly talking to nothing, but as soon as he had mentioned needing Jack, a soft breeze had ruffled his hair and he knew the wind was going to do what it needed.

It took about ten minutes. Jason was about to head back into the borders to get away from the cold when he appeared, bringing snow with him. Shivering a little more, Jason looked at the white haired teen who stood in front of his, leaning on the long staff as if he was just a normal teenage boy.

"The winds said you needed me," Jack commented as he shook out his snowy hair, sending a little flurry of snowflakes tumbling down, "I was just in the middle of an epic snowball fight-"

"Something's wrong with Nico," Jason stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"You didn't mention something about him needing to wear brighter colours, did you? He gets really touchy about that," Jack smirked a little.

"Someone walked through him. Literally straight through his chest-"

"That's not that big of a deal," Jack stood up straight, becoming eye level with Jason, "didn't he tell you that?"

"You mean its normal?" Jason's eyebrows drew together comically.

"'Course," Jack swung his staff over his shoulder, "happens all the time to the best of us."

"How long do you stay passed out for?" Jason leant against Thalia's Pine, avoiding stepping on the guard dragon's tail.

Jack seemed to freeze, "Pass out? He passed out?"

"Out cold," Jason frowned a little.

Jack spun in a circle before marching forward and trying to cross the Camp borders, only to be repelled instantly.

"Oh, right," Jason rubbed the back of his neck, "how did we get Ella in again? Oh, right. I Jason Grace, Son of Zeus, give permission for Jack Frost to enter."

After a quizzical glance, Jack tried again, only to be repelled.

"That should've worked," Jason's brow crinkled, "maybe I said it wrong-"

"My name technically isn't Jack Frost," the white haired spirit seemed antsy to get in, "try Jackson Overland."

Seeing the unspoken question, the restless spirit answered, "It was my name as a mortal. "

Jason repeated it, and this time, Jack was allowed in. The heat hit him hard and he blinked in surprise before rushing down the hill, Jason hot on his heels. Usually the winter teen would've been all over the new area to explore, but he could do that later. He knew what happened to Nico. It had happened to him as well, back when he was only fifty years old, and hanging around England. Someone had walked through him. It had hurt so much he'd passed out for a couple hours. Only a year later when he saw the man again did he discover it was Hermes, god of Messengers.

According to North, because Gods beings were powerful, when they walked through them, it was like having their whole power inside their weaker bodies. If a Gods whole power entered a mortal, it certainly would've burnt them alive, but with Spirits, it caused extreme pain.

Percy jogged up to them and asked "what happened?"

"Your dad walked through Nico," Jason explained as they skidded down a sand dune.

"So?" Percy asked, "people walk through Nico all the time."'

"You knew this happened?" Piper questioned in surprise as she took in the fact that Jack was within Camp borders.

"He said that if you don't believe in him, you just walk through him," Percy rubbed the back of his neck and everyone's gaze turned to Jack, who had knelt down next to Nico, laying his staff down on the sand.

"It's true. If you don't believe in us, we just don't exist. You can walk right through us. But because gods are so powerful when they walk through us-"

"-it's like looking at their pure form. It would burn any mortal alive," Annabeth finished as she worried a piece of her hair, "it makes sense."

"What do we do?" everyone was beginning to shiver slightly due to Jack, "do we just leave him?" Hazel looked worried.

"Only thing to do," Jack leant back on his haunches and wiped sweat from his brow.

"How are you sweating?" Leo questioned, "it's not even that warm."

"Spirit of _winter," _Jack put emphasis on the last word as he stood and headed to the water's edge.

"You guys go enjoy yourself," Hazel settled down next to Nico, "I'll watch him."

"I'll stay as well, I'm not too fond of water," Jason muttered as he moved to sit down.

As Jack walked out onto the water, freezing it with a single touch, he smirked as he watched Percy and Leo advance on either side of Jason. The Roman seemed to see what was happening at the last second and tried to run away, but the two Demigods gripped his arms tight, making the blonde struggle to get free.

"No point, Jason, I'm in my element," Percy smirked brightly as he hoisted his cousin with the help of Leo and threw him into the water.

The blonde spluttered to the top, looking ready to murder someone, and Jack glanced up as thunder rumbled across the clear sky.

"Not a smart idea," Percy waded out up to his waist, "I may not be that smart, but I know water and electricity don't mix."

"You win this time, Jackson," Jason trudged out of the water, passing a giggling Piper.

"Is this seriously all you guys do all day?" Jack floated up in the air above the water.

Percy floated on his back in the water and replied breezily; "only when I have days off."

Annabeth came deeper into the water and submerged herself up to her shoulders, "which is rarely," she rolled her eyes, "what did you need to talk to your dad about?"

"Tyson's birthdays coming up," Percy seemed relaxed, but Jack noticed a slight tensing of his shoulders, "didn't know what to get him."

Annabeth seemed to accept the excuse.

"It's ready!" Leo ran down to the beach with his modified surfboard, "hey, Percy, reckon you can create some waves?"

"Only if you let me have a turn on that thing," Percy walked out onto the shore with Annabeth.

Jack floated higher into the air and watched as Percy closed his eyes and concentrated. Jack had never seen Percy in action. Sure, he'd seen the occasional sword fights, but this was something knew. As Leo swam out into deeper water, small waves began to form on the clear glassy surface of the water, growing greater and greater in size until they rivalled those that the pros surfed. Leo, all the while, was cheering for them to be bigger.

Eventually the son of Hephaestus found one that he liked and he paddled in time with it until he found the courage to stand up. The board stayed steady and the curly haired teen cheered happily and held his hands up in joy. That was before the board started to smoke. Leo yelped in surprise and lost his footing, getting dunked in the wave, while the board was swallowed into the blue liquid.

"Oh Zeus," Percy muttered as he waited to see Leo resurface.

When he didn't, Percy and Jack reacted at the same time, diving into the surface. The large waves, now with nothing to reel them in, reaching high onto the shore, soaking everybody in the process, including Nico who spluttered awake in surprise.

Underneath the water, Jack swam forward, blue eyes held wide open against the sting. He could see Leo in the distance, floating in the water, a thin trail of crimson floating from his forehead. Propelling himself forward, he was reaching the crook of his staff out to wrap around the teens waist, when Percy beat him too it, wrapping an arm under the younger man's armpits.

"I've got this," Jack heard Percy's voice as clear as a bell despite the fact they were underwater.

Jack shrugged and watched as Percy rocketed to the surface. The spirit of winter began to follow, but he felt something tug against his staff. Lungs beginning to burn for breath, the winter spirit attempted to yank it free, but to no avail. With lungs screaming for air, he had no choice but to swim to the surface for air empty handed.

Breaking the surface he took in the air greedily. Jack didn't mind water. He enjoyed swimming. One thing he didn't like was the feeling of drowning, and that went without a needed explanation. Once he had the needed amount of air, he dived back down to where he knew his staff to be.

But it was gone.

Eyes stinging from the salt, he began to spin around wildly in the water, trying to see his staff. Panic swelled in his chest as he broke the surface again.

"Percy!" He called gesturing wildly for the black haired teen.

After making sure that Nico- who was soaking wet from the previous wave and now sufficiently awake- was okay, Percy dived back into the water.

"What is it?" Percy questioned as he stayed afloat easily in the water.

"My staff- it was tangled in seaweed and I couldn't hold my breath for long enough-"

"I'll get it, don't worry," Percy tried to calm him; "Nico wants to speak to you anyway."

Jack was sceptical for a moment before swimming into the shore. Cloths soaked through, he shook out his hair before feeling frost beginning to form in it again. Nico was shaking out his own hair while the others tended to Leo, who had acquired a nice cut right above left eye.

"What in the name of Hades happened to me?" Nico hissed as he took Jack a little further away.

"Gods are too powerful for our forms to contain them when they walk through us," Jack gazed worriedly back to the water, "it hurts for a while. You came too quicker than I expected, actually."

"That's comforting," Nico rubbed his surprisingly bear arms, "does it always happen?"

"Yes. It's one of the many reason we avoid gods," Jack was still looking at the water.

"What's gotten you so antsy?" Nico questioned as he followed Jack's gaze.

"I lost my staff down there," Jack rubbed the back of his neck, dislodging a few frozen beads of water.

As if on cue, Percy came out of the water, empty handed.

"I can't find it," the black haired man replied, "I've got a couple Hippocampi and naiads on the lookout for it."

"This is not good," Jack gripped his frosted hair, "not good."

"It's just a staff, right?" Frank questioned as he helped Leo sit up, "we can help you make a new one if we can't find the other one."

"It's not just a staff," Jack was working himself into a panic, and didn't seem to be able to say anything further.

"It's how he channels his power," Nico supplied, "it would be like taking your sword off you and giving you a dagger while claiming it was the same."

"So this is bad?" Hazel looked concerned now.

"This is very bad," Jack amended with a nod.

**And I'm back. Updates won't be often. Don't know why I'm even doing this, struggling with homework as it is.**


	2. Chapter 2

They searched for five hours. Annabeth and the Romans had long since left to get back to San Francisco, and Leo (after a stern talking to from Chiron), had departed for Cabin Nine, eager to share the story of his injury with his cabin mates. Percy was down in the water for a full solid four hours, while Jack spent an hour trying to pick up any cold spots that could be created by the staff.

There wasn't much Nico could do. He sat on the beach and rubbed his chest-right above his heart. Though the majority of the pain was gone, it left him feeling like he had heartburn, constant and burning, and yet slightly dulled. So this was one of the many reasons gods and guardians didn't mix. Certainly a volatile reaction. It wouldn't have happened if they just believed in him. He really needed to talk to North about this whole situation. The big Russian was the main supporter against the idea of gods discovering them, and he refused to tell Nico the answer, responding with 'a lot of bad blood'. Even Jack only seemed to know some mediocre reasons as to why.

Speaking of Jack, the winter spirit was working himself into a frenzy, pacing up and down the beach, muttering under his breath. Nico had watched him for a while but quickly became distracted. He knew what the staff meant to Jack. Every elemental or seasonal spirit apparently had to have some form of channelling their power. Unlike Nico, Bunnymund or even North, they didn't have a built up force of nature inside of them. The staff helped control it; or so Jack thought. Apparently he'd only lost his staff once before, and that had resulted in the Blizzard of '68.

"I've run every current path," Percy trudged out of the water and looked at his watch, "I have dinner with my family tonight. I can't be late. Sorry man."

He patted Jack on the shoulder as he walked past.

"I've still got some creatures on the lookout," Percy offered as he headed up the dunes, "we'll find it."

"You might want to wear a coat," Jack cracked a small smile as he stopped his pacing, "winds raging up a storm out there."

Percy nodded his thanks for the heads up before waving to Nico. The son of Hades himself just sat on the sand, looking at the sun setting over the ocean, finding no real interest in it. Jack sat down next to him, folding his knees up to his chest and resting his knees on the top, all the while wrapping his long arms around his skinny legs.

"So, how screwed are we?" Nico asked conversationally.

"Pretty screwed," Jack replied sadly.

"Do we tell North?" Nico questioned, still looking out at the water.

"Not yet," Jack looked at Nico, "he'll blow a gasket."

"So what are you going to do?" Nico questioned as he watched Jack rub his chest.

"Keep looking. Go find Mother Nature, ask for her help," Jack shrugged as he stood and dusted sand off himself, "anything but tell North."

"He might be able to help," Nico stood stuck his hands into his pocket.

"He has more important things to worry about," Jack shrugged, "I better be going. No doubt Elizabeth will be hot on my tail for this storm."

"Alright," Nico said warily as he watched Jack fly into the air, with now less cooperative winds to guide him.

Nico himself went to his cabin and changed into warmer clothes, chucking on a pair of fingerless gloves and another layer just to be safe. Thought cold didn't affect him as violently as it used to, he could still feel it's cruel bite. The Campers had returned from Olympus, and the snow that had dotted their clothing and hair instantly melted away.

"Someone pissed off the wrong person," he heard one twelve year old mutter as he passed.

Stuffing his hands into his pocket he disappeared into the elongated shadows of the Hecate cabin and appeared in Burgess. There was no storm here, but it was still chilly, and Nico tensed into his jacket. Walkng down the street he saw Jamie and Sophie building a snow man in the front yard with the help of Maria, who was going around and collecting rocks to use as bottoms, eyes and a mouth.

"Nico!" Jamie shouted happily as he abandoned his half made snowman head and jogged towards the taller teenager, "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Nico patted Jamie on the back as he continued to walk towards the two girls, "I've been busy."

"Jack says you just laze around all day and read books," Jamie stood by his snowman and watched as Nico picked up Maria and hugged her, letting the little girl play with the beads around his neck.

"Does he now?" Nico questioned as he rested Maria's weight on his hip and freed a hand to pick up Sophie who was making grabbing motions with her hands, "glad to know he thinks so highly of me."

"He didn't mean it in a bad way-"

"Jamie, it's fine," Nico chuckled as he carried the two girls, "what's Maria doing here? I thought her brother was due home this week."

"Mick-Mick one more day," Maria held up a single finger for him to see.

"He comes back tomorrow," Jamie translated, "her mother's out having dinner with my mum, so I'm babysitting."

Setting the two girls down, Nico nodded his understanding, and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. The sun was still up in this state and offered a little bit more warmth.

"I just wanted to check up on her," Nico supplied, "and see how you two are going."

"I started school again," Jamie sat down in the snow, "it's so boring!"

"I would give you some pep talk about how it helps you with your future, but I didn't make it to Middle School," Nico chuckled as he watched the two young girls begin to place stones on the snowman.

"Really? Wow, when did you stop school?" Jamie asked excitedly.

"When I was ten," Nico supplied his answer carefully, "you gotta make it all the way to College."

"You didn't even start Middle School and you turned out alright," Jamie huffed.

_I turned out dead, _Nico commented mentally before answering, "besides, if you don't finish High School, how are you going to get a job?"

"I 'spose you're right," Jamie stood up and dug his hands into his pockets, "where's Jack?"

"Just talking to Mother Nature. He'll visit soon," Nico felt a coin appear in his pocket, "I got to go."

"Bye, Nico."

After dealing with the child (a seven year old from Haiti) he heads to Rome again, burying himself deep in the Vatican underground archives, searching for anything at all that would bring him closer to becoming mortal. Part of Nico knew it wasn't possible, what's dead must stay dead (not if the Man in the Moon had anything to do with it, though). That part of Nico told him just to give up and be happy with his life.

The other part though still ached for mortality. It was dull, and based at the back of his chest, but when it wanted to be noticed, boy did it put on a show. It was the simple things that brought the ache out. Birthdays were the most common cause; they marked their aging of a year while Nico didn't change a single bit. He wanted to be mortal. He wanted to age. Part of him even wanted a family for company.

He was stuck in limbo between what he wanted.

The Guardian's where a family of sorts. He supposed North was what a father should've been. The only father's Nico could go off was his own (he doubted that was a good example) and what he had seen of Paul Blofis' interactions with Percy. North though, he was bright, smart, friendly and stern at the same time. He kept everybody in line while making sure everything remained fun. Bunny and Sandy where the uncles, the estranged, special in their own sort of way uncles. Tooth…she was an aunt. Jack, he was like a cousin, there to help but not as constant as a brother. Nico enjoyed their company and found mental solace in knowing they were there.

If he never got the chance to become mortal again, he certainly wouldn't mind having them for company.

Kicking his feet up onto the desk he flicked through the book. His language skills had become a little rusty in the past couple months due to the fact he hadn't been keeping up the constant reading, but he managed. All was quiet apart from the occasional guard and the hum of the heater. Nico still rubbed his chest, trying to quell the muted pain that rested within, all the while trying to focus on his book. Sighing mentally he turned the page and tried to drag himself out of depressing thoughts. He didn't understand why he just couldn't be happy with what he already had.

An hour later he abandoned his book and headed to New Orleans. The grave yard welcomed him and he took up a perch on top of a crypt, getting comfortable against the hard marble. The sky above was starless due to pollution, but the moon still shown down upon him, bathing him in its light. Gaze slipping out of focus, he slid into a laying position and brace his feet against the edge of the roof to keep himself from slipping off. The Moonlight seemed to push away all bad thoughts from his mind and he smiled a little bit.

Hand reaching out, he pulled Bianca's memory box and just clasped it in his hands, not needing to watch them. He had watched the memories over and over like it was some great movie. He had seen more fuzzy memories of his mother than ever before, and seen his sister happier than on any other occasion. He pulled out the floppy green cap as well, placing it on his head, relishing the feeling of the soft fabric.

He fell asleep under the moonlight, and for the first time in a while, had a naturally dreamless night's sleep.

**-This is a Line Break-**

Jack, on the other hand, could not see the moon through the thick tress above him, and he could feel a little unease rise up in him. His way was lit by flame light, and he was led by a young sprite, who seemed to spring into every step. Jack had only gotten one counsel with Mother Nature in his three hundred years, and that was a week after defeating Pitch for the first time. Apparently she had heeded word from Man in the Moon and didn't speak to him for all those years, despite the fact that he had taken up the position of Winter Spirit, after the fading of Old Man Winter.

"Jack, if I'd known you were going to visit I would've turned down the thermostat!" Mother Nature laughed in welcome from her throne of woven vines.

The joyful ruler of the seasons and nature was a women of about twenty four, with hair the colour of dirt and eyes the colour of moss. She was beautiful, even Jack had to admit, but she was taken by the Spirit of the Stars. Jack didn't mind though. She was certainly a moody person. Be it just her personality or the stress of her work, he couldn't tell.

"It's not that bad," Jack stuck his hands into the pockets of his jumper. The light heat actually felt nice against his skin.

"What are you visiting me for? Winters ending, shouldn't you be getting in your last hurray?" Mother Nature asked as she plucked some grapes from a passing sprite.

"That's the thing…" Jack rocked back on his heels, "I lost my staff."

Mother Nature's kind face turned stoic.

"Lost?" she questioned.

Jack retold her what happened.

"It was an accident," he finished off, "I have a son of Poseidon-"

"You're working with those Greek brats?" the stoic mask fell.

"The new Guardian, Nico, it's his cousin-"

"Hasn't North told you? We don't mix with their kind," Mother Nature huffed like a child who couldn't get what she wanted, "I get crops growing in Africa and who gets all the claims, _Demeter! _I bring back an extinct flower, who gets all the popularity, _Persephone!-"_

"Uh, excuse me," Jack held up a hand to stop her complaining, "I get what you mean. I know not to mix with the gods. What I need to know is how to find my staff."

Mother Nature pinched the bridge of her nose and collapsed back into her chair. With a click of her fingers, a small sprite appeared and offered her a drink from a golden chalice. After drinking heavily, she wiped her lips, looking visibly more relaxed.

"Apologies, Jack, all this pressure the humans are putting on the world rubs off on me sometimes. So stressful," she slumped in her seat, "you can't just find your staff, Jack, there isn't some magical tracking solution. You have to _look _for it."

"I have looked for it," Jack dug his toes into the dirt.

"Well, then you mustn't of looked good enough," Mother Nature _tsked, _"if not I do believe we'll be suffering another ice age."

"I can control it-"

Mother Nature tilted her head to the side and stared at him. Jack became a little uneasy and stopped talking. The tall lithe women came towards him and gripped his chin, forcing him to look upwards into her oddly green eyes.

"Your eye," she gripped his chin so tightly that he couldn't pull away. She didn't even notice the frost that was working the way up her bare arm.

"What about my eye?" Jack questioned in a panic.

"It's brown,"

**Sorry, got distracted by Kuroshitsuji!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Dear that lovely Guest who wrote me that long review, unfortunately, I have my story planned out, so I can't use any of them, but, it's a great idea. Feel free to write a story like that yourself!**

**Also, list of ships as per request.**

**Jason/Piper  
Frank/Hazel  
Percy/Annabeth  
Everybody else is not paired at the moment. If you have ideas for ships, I'll consider them (and give you credit)**

"This is not good," Mother Nature said as she cupped her hands over her mouth, beginning to pace in her worry.

"Brown?" Jack questioned as he quickly froze a puddle of water and knelt down to look in the blurry surface. Sure enough, one eye was a solid chocolate brown; exactly the same colour it had been before he died. Hand covering the eye, he stared at Mother Nature.

"What's happening to me?" Jack asked in a panic.

"This can't be happening. Not after last time-"

"This has happened before?" Jack's chest rose and fell quickly.

"I must alert Manny," she worried a strand of her brown hair, "and Aesir! Oh, how he'll worry!"

"What's going on?" Jack stated loudly, making Mother Nature pause.

"I don't know for sure. If I tell you, you'll worry," she curled hair around her slender fingers, "just go to the North Pole. North can protect you-"

"Protect me from what?" he advanced forward a step, but Mother Nature took one back, before erupting into hundreds of butterflies and flying away, leaving him alone.

Trying to quell his panic, he began climbing a thick Pine tree, heading up through the thick foliage to a point where the wind could carry him. All the while he tried to figure out what was happening. Everything had gone so fast. His staff was missing and now he had one brown eye. His brain scrambled to discover a reason, but only came up empty.

The wind picked him up and carried him out of Mother Nature's abode and towards the North Pole. It ruffled his hair in a worried fashion, and Jack tried to calm it the best he could. For a moment he thought about finding Nico, asking him for help, for advice, for anything! Nico was always reading books with odd titles, and the Son of Hades always commented they were about immortal beings. Maybe they had something about sprites or spirits? All he knew was that he needed help to figure this out.

He was just outside Toronto, Canada, when a shadow fell across the moon. Jack paused and stared up at it, swearing that he saw something fly across the blocked moon, but shook his head. His nerves were all over the place. The shadows moved from the moon (clouds no doubt) and Jack attempted to continue on his way. Attempted being the key word. A sudden hunting horn pierced the night (Jack hadn't heard the sound of an authentic hunting horn in over two centuries) at the same time that an arrow nearly pierced his side.

The wind, in response, skittered away slightly. That caused Jack to plummet towards the ground. Arms flailing wildly he called for the wind all the while. Unfortunately he hit the trees before the wind caught him. His back landed hard on a thin top branch and snapped it in two, his back cracking along with it. Hands scrambling to find purchase, the trees whipped at his face, and just before he hit the ground, he managed to hook his knees around a branch, nearly dislocating them in the process.

Breathing heavily he let himself hang upside down. Blood dripped into his eye from a cut on his cheek, staining his hair, and then finally dropping onto the ground. He hadn't broken any bones, a fall like that couldn't damage his strong Guardian bones, but his skin had always been prone to cuts and scrapes.

"A man," a feminine voice said from behind him and Jack snapped into a sitting position on his tree branch.

It was a women; a teen, actually, with auburn hair and a rather beautiful set of eyes. Jack looked her up and down, trying to figure out what she was. She wasn't mortal, that much he could tell (the bow slung across her back was a sure indicator).

"Hi," He wiped blood from his eyes.

"You are not the thing that I'm hunting," the women stated in a cold voice, "be on your way before I decide to turn you into an antelope."

"Antelope? What are you? A sprite?" Jack smirked at her.

Her eyes shaped into deadly slits, "you dare mock me?"

"Milady, the creature has forsaken our sights-"Jack straightened as Thalia broke through the trees.

"Thalia?" Jack used his sleeve to get blood from his eye.

"You know this man?" The women questioned.

There was a silence in their little area. Thalia was looking more confused than anything. How could Artemis see the winter spirit? She had to come up with a lie; and fast.

"I met him when I was on the run with Luke," Thalia stated, hoping Jack would catch on, "in New York. We knew he was a Demigod, but he refused to come to Camp."

"Who is your godly parent, boy?" the woman asked Jack.

"No idea," Jack dropped down onto the ground, toes digging into the snow on the ground.

Artemis shook her head and huffed, "be on your way then, Demigod, this is no place for an untrained boy."

"Milady, perhaps I could take him to camp and relay a message to Chiron on the way?" Thalia spoke up politely.

"Do what you must. Tell Chiron to expect our company after we complete with this hunt," Artemis ordered, "return as quickly as possible."

"Yes, milady," Thalia bowed politely as she watched the goddess disappear into the tree line.

Jack picked up some snow and used it to wash the blood from his face. Thalia watched him, looking less than impressed.

"How could she see you?" Thalia questioned in a hushed voice before pressing her fingers to her lips and whistling loudly, "and why is one of your eyes brown?"

"I don't know," Jack ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know why anything is happening at the moment."

A large wolf padded in front of the tree line, larger than any normal wolf that Jack had come across. Jack watched as Thalia rested a hand on its head and looked at Jack.

"You're coming to camp," She swung easily onto it's back.

"I have to go to North's," Jack lifted himself off the ground and hovered a little bit.

"You don't want to be flying at the moment," Thalia glanced up at the moon, "something's up there and hunting for blood. It's already slaughtered twelve spirits tonight."

Jack's face fell.

"I'll Iris Message for Percy to have Nico come and pick you up from camp," Thalia continued as she watched Jack move towards the wolf, "you don't even need to cross camp borders."

"Thanks, Thalia," Jack climbed onto the wolf and tried to get as comfortable as possible.

Jack didn't know how it was possible, but it took little under an hour to reach New York. He supposed it was Demigod magic. During that time he told Thalia all that had happened to him in the past day while the female hunter kept quiet, contemplating what she'd heard.

"This can't be anything good," Thalia commented as they raced up the road towards the large pine tree, "it can only-"

The spirit of winter didn't get a chance to hear the rest. Something pushed him bodily off the wolf and caused him to land hard on the concrete road. He heard something crack, but he couldn't be sure as to what it was, due to the fact that there something with an incredibly sharp beak attempting to peck him to death.

Raising a hand, a torrent of blue ice shot outwards, illuminating the night and forcing the creature off him. Staggering to his feet he looked at the hideous beast. It looked like half a vulture and half a lion. With vibrant green eyes, it stared sourly at him, piercing him through just with the gaze.

The creature began to move forward again, and Jack stamped his foot down, causing the road to become slick with ice. While the creature cawed out indignantly, one of its feather covered wings was pierced by an arrow, making it cry out in pain.

"A head shot would've been nice!" Jack yelled as he buffeted the creature away with the help of a mini snowy tundra.

"I'm working on it!" Thalia yelled as she knocked another arrow and yelled something loudly. The arrow crackled through the air and hit the beast in the chest, making it's body writhe as electricity shot through it. Jack took the opportunity to freeze it solid.

Wiping blood from his cheek where the bird had pecked his face, Jack sat down in a graceful heap on the ground, nursing his chest. Cracked ribs from the feel of it. Brushing hair out of his eyes, he came across a brown streak marring the white locks. Clasping it between his fingers, he became cross eyed from trying to look at it. It didn't even have frost on it.

"Hey!" Someone raced down the street, "you two okay?"

"We're fine, Peter," Thalia hoisted Jack to his feet, ignoring his pained wince, "just an attack."

"So I'm guessing we have a new recruit?" the teen named Peter asked comically.

Thalia and Jack's gaze met for a moment, and Jack shook his head just a fraction, but Thalia answered, "yes, came across him on a hunt. Is Chiron awake?"

"I think so," Peter held back a yawn, "I better get back to my post."

Once he was gone, Jack turned on Thalia, "what were you thinking? I'm not going to Camp!"

"That thing was only after you," Thalia argued, "my demigod smell is enough to bring any monster on Long Island here. It went after _you_. That's not a coincidence."

"I have to stay away from the Gods. Going to a camp with their children is not exactly staying away. And since they can see me, it'll be a whole lot harder!" Jack argued, holding his ribs as his yelling made then twinge with pain.

Thalia folded her arms over her chest, "so instead you're going to go all the way to the North Pole, risk more animals coming after you and hurting others? Great plan."

Jack deflated a little. Thalia was right. That thing was after him. North didn't know about his staff yet and the fact that Mother Nature was so worried would cause a Guardian Meeting to be called. It would be too much of a hassle.

"Only until Nico comes," Jack huffed.

Thalia nodded, "you better be able to come up with a believable back story."

They walked the short distance to the camp and crossed the borders. Instantly the air started to warm up and Jack moved around in his jacket, trying to keep his coolness. The camp was dead quiet, not a single thing stirred, and the various cabins where illuminated brightly by the moon. The huntress lead him towards the large blue house without any hesitation, opening the door and gesturing for him to go first.

"Chiron," Thalia called as she walked down the halls.

"In here, child," a calm voice spoke to their right.

Sitting by a fire, his massive white stallion body folded beneath him, sat who Jack guessed to be Chiron. He had a kind and fatherly look about him, one that made Jack relax visibly.

"Oh, Thalia, my dear girl, I wasn't expecting an update from the hunters for a couple weeks now. I've actually just been working on some new Archery exercises." Chiron's brown eyes twinkled under the fire light as he inspected one of his oldest students. While talking to Thalia his gaze flickered to the teen. He looked perhaps sixteen, certainly skinny for his age; a single eye was a stunning blue while the other was a deep brown that matched the colour of the single streak in his white hair. He certainly was interesting look at. He wore no shoes, and his pants were tattered tights that didn't match his oversized hoody. If Chiron had to guess, he'd say the boy was homeless.

"This guy interrupted our hunt," Thalia gestured to the teen finally.

"Hi," the teen replied as he rocked back on his heels.

"Hello," Chiron replied, "Thalia, perhaps I could speak to Jack alone?"

"Sure," Thalia shrugged, "I have to get back to the Hunters."

Jack sent Thalia a look that Chiron mistook for fear.

"Don't worry, Camp Half-Blood is the safest place on earth," the centaur tried sooth the boy. The elder man folded himself into a wheel chair, horse body disappearing into the metal contraption, "my names Chiron and I'm the director of this Camp."

"I'm Jackson Overland," his human name felt foreign on his tongue, "but everyone calls me Jack."

Sitting down in an offered chair, Jack resisted the urge to kick his feet up onto the table, but instead dug his hands into his pockets.

"Tell me, what do you know about Greek mythology?" Chiron asked as he sat across from Jack.

"It's all real," Jack didn't even blink as he replied, "every single bit of it."

Though Jack seemed calm, in his mind he was scrambling to come up with a back story.

"How long have you known that?" Chiron questioned.

"Since I was born," Jack slumped in his chair to ease pressure on his ribs. What he really needed was to lay in a thick snowdrift.

"Tell me Jack, do you have a home?" there was pity in the man's brown eyes.

Jack shook his head. It wasn't exactly as if he could say 'oh, yeah, it's the lake where I drowned three hundred years ago,' so instead he said, "I used to live in Burgess, a couple states over, but after a monster attacked my sister, my parents kicked me out."

"The life of a demigod is never easy," Chiron shook his head sadly, "how old are you?"

"Seventeen," Jack scrubbed dry blood from his face.

"How did you manage to survive on your own for so long?" curiosity replaced pity.

"I learnt how to fight," Jack shrugged.

"I have just one more question for you, Jack," Chiron smiled softly, "it is very late after all, you're probably tired."

"Ask away," Jack was wide awake.

"Where did you get that necklace?"

Jack stifled laughter as he looked down at his necklace, "thinking of buying one for yourself?"

Chiron joined in his laughing, "No, that is a caduceus, the symbol of Lord Hermes. It isn't uncommon for gods to give tokens."

"It was a gift from a friend of mine, actually," Jack rubbed the cool metal between his fingers, "a good luck charm."

"Well then, I suppose I'll get you cleaned up and a temporary bed set up in the Hermes cabin-"

A light suddenly filled the room and Jack glanced up. Floating above his head was the very symbol that was around his neck. The caduceus glowed a soft blue before slowly blinking out of existence.

"It seems that I will have to make it permanent bed," Chiron mused.

**Just so you know, Hermes is not Jacks father, it will all be explained in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chiron had decided against waking up the Hermes cabin to set him up a bed (apparently they were all very light sleepers) but instead gave him an unused room on the second floor, reminding him that if he had any questions that he would be up all night. Giving him an orange t-shirt with _Camp Half Blood _on it, a pair of loose track pants, and invitation to use the house shower and a little square of Ambrosia he left Jack for the night, promising to give him a full tour in the morning. Jack sat on the bed and looked at each given item in turn. The shirt was useless for its intended purpose, so instead he tore it to shreds and used it wrap his ribs tightly (no doubt they would be healed by tomorrow, the cuts on his face had already begun to close), the track pants he discarded (he had kept these pants for three hundred years, he wasn't about to get rid of them) and the ambrosia he threw in the bin. Nico had told him about it. Food of the gods, burn a mortal with a single taste. Now Jack wasn't exactly mortal, but he didn't want to risk it.

He didn't even try to sleep. He cracked open the window in his room and jumped down onto the roof of the verandah. His footsteps remained silent as he pattered towards a drain pipe. There was no wind to help him now due to he protection borders. He was on his own.

Now, he wasn't exactly going against what Thalia said. He had gone to Camp but finding out that a god was allegedly his father was too much. His father was happily married to his mother, and his mother was born and raised religious, she certainly wouldn't cheat. It was a ludicrous idea. Besides, he was a spitting image of his elder brothers (though a little more gangly). He didn't feel like hanging around and lying, so he would go to Percy's apartment and bunk there for the night.

Stepping through the camp he saw a child, no older than ten, tending to the fire pit. He paused misstep as his mismatched coloured eyes met her honey ones. She merely smiled softly and went back to the fire. Jack shook his head and continued through the camp, right until he reached the large pine tree on the hill.

In the distance he could see the singular person they kept on night watch circling the beach, alone with some horrible looking creatures that seemed to be playing card on the roof of the dining hall. Harpies; Nico had mentioned something like that.

Sticking his head around the tree he saw the dragon snoring softly. He could feel the winds presence just beyond the barrier and he smiled softly and was about to leave when a voice stopped him.

"That wouldn't be a good idea, Jack Frost."

Spinning around he saw a man about two meters away. He was taller than Jack, but his form looked frumpy due to his jogging suit. With salt and pepper hair, smile crinkled blue eyes and an easy going look, he resembled a slightly fashion impaired sport teacher.

"Good ideas aren't exactly my forte," Jack chuckled as he tucked his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt.

"It was a pretty good idea to come here," the man commented, looking at his odd fashion flip phone absently.

"Actually, that was Thalia's," Jack pointed out, "who are you anyway?"

"Hermes," the man smiled, "god of messengers, thieves, and anything that uses the road. Also, I'm not your father."

Jack's mind took a moment to catch up, "you're not? What was all the floaty glowey magic for?"

Hermes chuckled as he sat down on the grass and gestured to Jack to the do the same. The spirit of winter paused for a moment before sitting down across from him.

"Well you can't expect to attend camp and not be claimed," Hermes clicked his fingers and a six pack of coke appeared, "want one? This'll only take a moment."

Jack took the offered drink with a nod of thanks.

"How do you know me?" Jack questioned carefully as he sniffed the drink before taking a sip.

Hermes finished his mouthful of sugary goodness before replying, "I was always a curious child-just ask my step mother, used to drive her mad- and it was around the Colonial time that I began to find interest in myths and legends. I'd been busy for centuries, dealing with trade routes, plagues, settlers, but I found some time. One thing that interested me was Nicholas St. North. "

"Santa," Jack nodded an affirmative.

"The more I read, the more I looked into it. A quick expedition to the North Pole later, I came across the legend himself. Didn't speak to him though, he looked busy. The more I read the more I could see. It was as if the mist had been wiped from my eyes. I thought all of you were gone." Hermes shrugged.

Mist; Nico had mentioned something about that.

"Then new legends began. Jack Frost, the bringer of winter,"

"But you walked through me-"

"I did?" Hermes' brow crinkled, "sorry."

Jack quieted down.

"I decided to find the source of the legend, after all I always wondered where you came from, and I narrowed it down to a little girl by the name of Genevieve Overland,"

"My sister," Jack proclaimed happily, "she started my legend?"

"She tried. She used to proclaim that her brother had been brought back to spread snow and winter. People brushed it off, until a traveller came across her story and published it, modifying it with Old Man winters. When I saw your name pop up on the list of Camp visitors I became intrigued," Hermes finished his can, "and here you are!"

"You're like a calmer version of a fan girl," Jack commented with a raised eyebrow, "all the work just to figure this out? If it was so interesting the other gods would've figured it out by now."

Hermes chuckled at that, "you're interesting, what can I say?"

"Why claim me?"

Hermes face turned sombre, "something has been killing my children," the god looked sad, "over fifty satyrs and spirits have died in the past two weeks. All of the ones who've passed where in charge of spreading word of winter or oncoming storms- seasonal sprites."

Jack couldn't help but think of the little sprite that had lead him to Mother Nature.

"I figured the creature wanted winter. You're winter, Jack," Hermes hard gaze met his; "it wants you."

"Because of me all those sprites are dead?" Jack asked shocked, his stomach suddenly doing flips.

"This isn't your fault," Hermes said gently, "I just want to try and limit the causalities. Camp is the safest place for you."

"I don't belong here," Jack pointed out, spreading his arms wide, "I'm supposed to spread winter and fun."

"If you die there won't be any fun at all," Hermes commented.

"I have friends who can help," the spirit of winter offered, "we can handle this."

"This isn't a spirit or sprite, Jack," Hermes cracked another can of soda, "this is godly. You'll just end up getting your friends killed."

Jack dropped his head for a moment before looking up, fire in his eyes, "I'm not just going to sit back and do nothing."

"You don't have your staff," Hermes frowned at him, "you're weakening. Turning mortal."

"How do you know-"

"It happened to Old Man Winter," Hermes gaze saddened again.

"He faded because of his age," Jack argued.

"Old Man Winter was a great friend of ours- Jokul Frosti- we used to call him. He was Norse, a Viking, a great fighter-and we thought he was a god. That was until someone took his sceptre. We saw something horrible happen. He turned mortal. Zeus felt betrayed that the man was only faking and killed him, ordering an inquest to find anything else lying about their godhood. About twenty spirits died during it," Hermes hung his head in shame.

"The gods killed Old Man Winter?" Jack knew little of his predecessor but this still came as a great shock to him, "you guys killed twenty spirits?"

This was the bad blood North was talking about.

"You have every right to be angry," Hermes didn't argue the fact, "but now Zeus thinks they're all gone. He thinks Christmas and Easter are mortal Christian folly. He doesn't care for it now. I know that you're close to Nicholas St. North and that he is a loyal man. If you die, I'm afraid of what Nicholas might do to the gods; and what the gods might do to spirits in return when he knows they still exist."

Jack paused; "you're trying to protect us? Why?"

Hermes looked pensively for a moment; "I suppose I've seen and fought enough wars to last me a long time. I don't want anymore," he was quiet for a moment, "I know you want to go out there and help, but I'm telling you, this is the best thing you can do at the moment."

Jack remained silent as he thought. This was the bad blood North spoke about? The gods had killed spirits. Maybe that was how new spirits came to be, they filled the spots of those who had died. For a moment Jack couldn't help but curse out the gods. He felt like just leaving and never looking back, but then he remembered what Hermes had said. He was turning mortal. His powers would fade, he wouldn't be able to protect himself, and he had something hot on his tail. If thing was godly, bringing the Guardians into it would just draw attention to them. It would do more damage than good.

"I'll stay," Jack met Hermes gaze, "but only if you find my staff."

"Deal," Hermes stuck out a hand, "I'll try the best I can."

The two shook hands and stood up. Jack stuck his hands into his pockets and Hermes bid him farewell. As the god disappeared past the borderlines, Jack slumped against the tree, alone with three cans of coke. Jack didn't like running from fights. He hated seeming like a coward. He wanted to run out into the world and find his staff but part of him told the spirit of winter that it was out of reach.

One thing Hermes had never explained was why he was turning mortal. It had something to do with his missing staff. Nothing else was informative enough to help him. He felt useless.

As day began to break, he collected his mess and climbed back into his room, feeling an absence of pain, he figured he had to be healed. Unwrapping his ribs he headed into the shower down the hall. He hadn't showered in years- only baths in streams and North's massive bath houses. Turning the water onto straight cold he bathed under the heavy stream. Blood washed from his skin and he breathed a sigh of relief. He scrubbed his hoody clean with soap before stepping out. The water began to freeze in his hair and he dislodged it with a towel.

Dressed yet again he went back to the room and waited until seven o'clock. That was the time people usually got up, right? It seemed like a normal enough time. He walked downstairs to see Chiron through the window on the deck, enjoying a cup of coffee with another man. As he walked outside he saw the other man scowling heavily at him over the rim of a can of diet coke.

"Ah, Jack, I thought I heard you waking up," Chiron smiled at him, lines crinkling around his eyes, "this is Mr D."

Jack looked the guy up and down. He looked like one of the hung over bums Jack would see on the streets after New Years Eve.

"Mr D, this is Jack Overland, a new camper," Chiron continued.

"I suppose I have to say it," the man- no god, Jack decided- rolled his eyes, "welcome to camp, blah, blah, blah- try not to die-, more blah. Now leave me be, John Ovenbaked."

"John Ovenbaked?" Jack questioned with a raised eyebrow, "you're obviously not a morning person."

He received only a glare in return and a muttered; "always so rude. I don't get enough credit for this job."

"Come, I'll show you too the Hermes cabin and get you situated," Chiron nodded and unfolded his long horsey legs, "many retired campers are returning for tonight's game of capture the flag. I do believe Connor and Travis will also be in attendance."

"Who?" Jack questioned as he followed the Centaur.

"They're the honorary heads of the Hermes cabin. They passed their title down when they left camp, but everyone worships them," Chiron chuckled, "they are highly respected due to the fact that they always seem to be putting chocolate bunnies atop the Demeter Cabin."

As Jack walked through the main throng of cabins he saw that they all looked rather spectacular. Gold, silver, rock, nicely kept, but then he saw the Hermes cabin. It looked run down and a little old. Cocking his head to the side, Jack shrugged and continued to follow Chiron.

"Hey, Chiron! Long-time no see," a voice pierced the quiet morning air.

Jack turned around to see two very similar looking people. They seemed to be about Percy's age. The only distinguishing feature was that one seemed to be taller than the other.

"Oh, do we have another one?" one of them asked.

"Dad sure does like to get around," the second one commented with a smirk.

"Travis, Connor, this is Jack," Chiron gestured to the spirit of winter, "your new cabin mate. I trust you can show him around and get him comfortable?"

"Sure thing," they said at the same time, "we sons of Hermes have got to stick together."

The spirit spent an hour with the two. They set him up a bed on the top of a bunk with someone called Ricardo taking the bottom one. They supplied him with toiletries and explained how the day would work. In the last fifteen minutes before breakfast, they began to show him around camp.

"So, those hair and eyes natural?" Travis- who was the older of the pair (apparently not twins)-asked as he wiped his mop of curly brown hair out of his eyes.

"Yes," Jack kicked up a stone with his bare foot, "genetics I suppose."

"There's a kid here with an extra finger, so don't feel like you're the only weird one around here," Connor commented with a smirk, "right; cabins. You have all the minor gods on the outside, Olympians on the inside. Artemis and Apollo are the nice bright and shiny ones. Don't mess with Ares, Demeter or Hephaestus; they got booby traps everywhere-"

"-Athena cabin will kill you if you even think of entering their little study hole. Dionysus is empty at the moment. Hermes cabin will be your nice little home. Aphrodite cabin causes anyone within a three metre radius to suffocate due to the amount of perfume they use-"

"-Don't even think about setting foot in the Hera cabin. Last person who did turned into a cow. It was amusing to say the least. Zeus cabin is strictly for the Grace siblings, don't try and steal anything, because you get a mean shock-"

"-your eyebrows took months to grow back-" Connor remembered fondly.

"-Poseidon cabin is strictly for Percy-"

"-and Annabeth. If the cabin is a-rocking, don't come a-knocking," Connor smirked with a wink.

"-and then there's the Hades cabin," Travis rocked back on his heels with a grim smile, "ignore the campers who say its cursed. Some jack-ass started a rumour about it."

Jack paused outside the dark cabin. This place had been Nico's home of sorts when he was alive. He couldn't miss an opportunity to learn a bit about his friend, "why do people say it's cursed?"

"Well," Connor bit his lip, "only one person has ever stayed there. Nico Di Angelo, he passed away in the Giant War. People had never really had a chance to warm up to Hades before Nico died, and after he did pass away, someone smashed in all the windows. Someone said it was his ghosts haunting the place, and thus a story started that Nico's ghost hung around camp-"

"-least to say Percy dealt with them in a very patient matter-" Travis' tone made Jack think that perhaps the person who started the rumour was perhaps hurt very badly after that instance, "-just don't mention anything about Nico when Percy's around. It's still a touchy subject."

"Got it," Jack nodded as he followed the brothers towards the dining hall, which was now filling with people.

"On the subject of Percy," Travis smiled, "we have to get him on our team."

"Is he coming tonight?" Connor questioned.

"He better be coming," Travis threatened as he sat down at a long table, a plate of bacon and eggs suddenly materialising in front of him.

"Why does everyone want Percy on their team?" Jack already knew the answer, but decided to keep up a façade.

"He's the best fighter the camps ever seen," Connor said as he quickly explained how the dining here worked, "he's been on the most quests, saved the world twice, and he's a champion of the gods. He's a bit goofy though."

"I saw him using straws to impersonate a walrus once," Travis laughed, "somehow managed to poke himself in the eye."

"Once he set his pants on fire."

"Took him nearly five years for him to recognise his feelings for his girlfriend."

"And he fell asleep at a councillor meeting and drooled in his sleep-"

"I think he gets the gist,"

Jack spun around to see Percy behind him, hands stuck in the pocket of his khaki shorts, orange t-shirt glowing in the sun, "hey guys, can I have a word with Jack?"

"Go ahead," Travis smirked as he brushed past Percy, and the son of Poseidon grabbed Travis hand, removing the velvet box from the son of Hermes grip.

"Impressive," Connor smirked even wider than his brother, "usually takes people five minutes to notice."

"Is that-" Travis said suddenly.

"Don't say anything," Percy glared at the brothers.

"Lips are sealed," Connor salute before walking off towards the fire pit.

Jack looked at Percy and then to the box that was now hastily being stuffed into his pocket.

"What's going on?" Percy asked in a hushed tone as he hastily waved to Chiron, who was smiling at the pair.

"I'm turning mortal," Jack's voice was barely above a whisper, "at least that's what Hermes said."

"You spoke to—wait, never mind, what do you mean mortal?" Percy looked him up and down.

"Exactly that," the spirit looked around worriedly.

"This is bad," Percy stuck his hands into his pockets.

"I've said that too myself so many times that I'm sick of hearing it," Jack commented in annoyance.

**I know Jack is a little OOC, but I'll clear that up in the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guest #1: Nico's hair is in fact black. While I haven't got the books handy, I've checked Camp Half-Blood wiki (my main source of information, never proven me wrong before) and it says his hair in black. In the official portrait his hair is brown and his eyes green, going completely against the books representation of him. I could still be wrong, but I will continue writing him with black hair.**

**Guest #2: I will accept some of your ships.**

**Tyson/Ella  
Grover/ Juniper  
Clarisse/Chris**

**Extra Notes: Things such as Naiads and Nymphs can see seasonal spirits; thus that's how they can see Jack (when he's at full strength).**

**Story time**

Nico had spent the last couple days in Africa, not doing anything in particular, just roaming the fast savannahs and harsh landscapes. Sometimes he would collect a couple souls from the small villages; if he hadn't, they would've trekked their way to Los Angeles. It wasn't too much of a hassle for him, it was just a nice short trip. He saw Thanatos occasionally, collecting up the ones who lost on where to go, his great black wings protecting them from the harsh sun.

Night had fallen about two hours ago, and Nico had decided to sleep on the sandy shores of a small Australian town, deciding to leave Africa for the moment and perhaps see if he could explore the Warren in the morning. The moon had gotten slightly thinner but that didn't stop its glow. The son of Hades was going to sleep tonight, he was worn and tired, and after two weeks of constantly walking the earth, he was tired.

Unfortunately the Man in the Moon wasn't always sensitive to what Nico wanted.

The bright and vibrant moon beam hit him straight on the face, making his pale skin look ghostly. The teenager cracked open an eye before wincing and rolling over, blocking out the bright light. In response, the light grew brighter and wider until it encompassed his whole body.

"I know you can talk," Nico grumbled into the sand. Despite his best efforts, he still couldn't find himself thinking positively about the supernatural entity; luckily, Jack was on the same boat. "Stop trying to blind me and get it done."

The only sound was waves lapping against the shore.

If possible, the light grew brighter.

"Go away," Nico felt the shadows begin to crawl away from the light, leaving him exposed, "unless you plan on beaming me up with that light, this whole light show is pointless."

The coin in his pocket was a blessing. It arrived in his pocket with the usual name and address; and just as it did, the moon disappeared, leaving Nico in the dark. He shuddered and sat up running the name and address through his head.

_Harley Bolt, Camp Half-Blood, Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141, Long Island, New York 11954._

A demigod death? He was never called for those. Pushing himself to his feet he disappeared into the plentiful shadows, thinking on the name. He'd heard that name before. Harley….The name played on his mind until it hit him. Harley, son of Hephaestus.

The demigods body was resting against the grass of the hill, a monster pecking at the boys exposed entrails. Cocking his head, Nico tried to identify the monster. Certainly nothing he'd seen before. A scaled four legged body with a head of an ostrich and a tail of a dog. As the blood continued to stain the grass below the body, Peleus roared in anger, pulling against the chain around his neck.

The spirit of Harley was at the base of the hill. Nico remembered the boy being rather depressive for reasons unknown. He'd probably been dropped off by a mortal parent, guessing from the scattered bag of clothing.

"Why aren't you going to D.O.A?" Nico folded his arms in question.

"I'm waiting for the proper burial," it seemed to take Harley a moment to process the fact that someone had spoken to him. He turned around and face Nico, head cocking to side as he tried to place a name to a face, "oh Hades, I really am dead. I was hoping it was a dream."

A conch shell sounded from within camp and Nico looked towards Thalia's Pine as he spoke.

"Oh, good, you know me," Nico dug in his pocket for the coin. Obviously Man in the Moon had changed his usual work requirements; there was something going on at camp that the entity wanted him to know about. It certainly wasn't a nice way of getting his attention.

"Who doesn't?" Harley muttered as he rested his head on his chin.

"Here," Nico threw the coin and the younger teen caught it, "go to your afterlife. Enjoy it."

Someone appeared on the hill. A second later a surprised scream followed. The monster turned its gaze on her, round eye slitted as it inspected her. Deciding she wasn't good enough, it went back to its meal.

Due to the scream, more campers came, and among them was Percy. The son of Poseidon didn't seem to notice Nico for a moment as he charged forward and sliced through the monster, who seemed too content on its meal to move. It didn't dissolve into dust; instead it crumbled into a white powdery substance.

"Someone get Chiron!" Percy called as his hands scrambled along the body.

"Go," Nico said to Harley in a hushed tone, "I'll make sure they bury you right."

Harley left. Nico knew he could make it there on his own. He was old and mature enough to know what to do; he wasn't like the ignorant children he usually dealt with. Turning his attention back to the scene, Chiron was just breaking through the group of Demigods at the crest of the hill.

"Counsellors! Get your campers back to the cabins!" He called as he broke through the border and hurried down to the body.

As Nico joined them, he noticed Percy jump a little in surprise before cooling his expression so that Chiron wouldn't get suspicious.

Chiron gently closed Harley's eyes and pried the small dagger from the boys hands. Wiping blood from the paling face, Chiron frowned sadly.

"It's Harley," Percy slumped a little, "the Hephaestus Cabin is going to be heart broken."

"The whole camp will be," Chiron shook his head in dismay. Demigod death rates had gone down hugely in the past years due to the fact that Demigods were brought to camp earlier, along with decreased monster activity. Everyone at camp wasn't a stranger to death of a Demigod though; most Demigods never used to make it past nineteen. At least they didn't die at the base of their safe haven.

"I'll arrange for Nyssa to organise the burial," Chiron removed his tweed jacket and draped it over the body before picking it, "can you please spread the word that there will be no game tonight?"

"Of course," Percy nodded as he wiped the blood from his hands on the grass.

It was only after Chiron was gone that Percy spoke to Nico.

"Can you get Leo? He'll want to know," Percy stood and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

As Nico disappeared, Percy headed back into camp. He found the conch shell resting on the bannister of the Big House and pressed it to his lips, blowing it strongly. Campers flocked to him in an instant, waiting to see what he would say. Part of him realised that not a single member of the Hephaestus cabin was present.

"There will be no capture the flag tonight," Percy spoke as strong as he could.

A quiet murmur ran through the crowd.

"Who was it?" Someone asked in the throng of people. Percy paused for a moment, unsure if he should say who.

"Harley," Percy finally allowed himself to say it, "go back to your normal activities. Chiron will talk to all of us at dinner."

Every dispersed apart from Jack, who was standing there looking more shocked than anybody else.

"_Go back to your activities?_" Jack questioned disgust in his tone, "a kid just died."

"It's sad, but it's part of a demigods life," Percy felt almost ashamed, "we're lucky if we make it to adulthood."

"I don't think I like this life," Jack gazed down at his bare feet, "I never knew so many kids would've died."

"Demigod life isn't an easy life," Percy saw Leo in the distance jogging towards his cabin, "I need to talk to Leo, see if he's alright."

"Go ahead," Jack said almost mockingly.

The winter spirit headed to a top the hill where he could see Nico standing. As he reached his comrade Guardian, he followed his line of sight. Outside the border where more of the mutated creatures. They all perched in trees or flew in circles in the air like vultures.

"They're waiting for something," Nico commented.

"Let's get rid of them-"

"I tried," Nico's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, "it only brings in more."

"Who could they be waiting for-" Jack's words caught in his throat as he remembered what Hermes had said, _it wants_ _you, "_-they want me."

"What makes you think that?" Nico questioned, finally looking at Jack. Though his face remained stoic, Jack saw the trademark spark of madness (or was it genius?) flare up in Nico's eyes.

"Hermes told me. They're killing spirits by mistake, they think it's me," Jack tugged at his hair.

"So they could be the ones with your staff," Nico nodded an affirmative.

"I never thought of that," Jack blinked in surprise.

"What's going on with your hair?" Nico asked casually.

"Turning mortal," Jack replied in the same manner, but he saw a flicker of something he couldn't identify appear in Nico's eyes, "something to do with my missing staff."

"Go find your staff then," was all Nico supplied.

Jack may not have understood every aspect of Nico yet, but he knew that when Nico's answers began to shorten, it meant something bad.

"I promised I wouldn't," Jack sat down on the hill.

"Stupid promise," they were now down to two word answers.

"I know," Jack sighed, "Hermes is looking for it."

Nico merely nodded.

"Can you look for it as well? I would….but whatever those things are, they want me. They could hurt other people and I don't want too-"

"I'll look," Nico supplied as he ruffled his black hair.

"Jack!"

The spirit turned around to see Connor coming up the hill. The taller boy ran at a fast gait without trouble and he skidded to stop right a top the hill, next to Jack, and through Nico. Jack's eyes widened in concern as he saw his friend grip his chest and back away, scowl marring his features.

"Holy Hades silken underpants," Connor breathed as he looked at all those creatures. He reached into his pocket and seemed to be holding a small object before it transformed into a bow and arrow. He calmly knocked one on the string and took aim. It was a clean headshot that sent the animal crumbling into white dust. In a matter of seconds, two more had flown in, taking the singular one's place.

"Not good," Connor looked at Peleus, who was trying to fry whatever came close, "go tell Chiron."

Jack glanced at Nico who was sulking against the tree. Biting his lip he departed down the hill, bare feet making no sound against the grass. Campers parted to make way for him and yelled a thanks. Chiron was inside the Hephaestus cabin, and Jack slowed down before knocking on the door softly.

Inside he could see Leo hugging a dark skinned girl tightly. Behind him younger children sat solemnly on the bed. It seemed Hephaestus cabin became pretty empty during the school months. Jack tried not to become engrossed in the cabin itself- because it truly looked like an interesting place- as he went to Chiron, who was sitting with someone who seemed to be the youngest of the cabin.

"There's more of them," Jack said softly, "they keep coming."

"This is bad news," Chiron stood up and frowned, "thank you for telling me, Jack." The half horse placed a hand on Jack's shoulder but pulled it away as frost began to coat it. He brushed it away and Jack prayed that the man thought it was just a trick he was trying to play.

Chiron finally decided it was nothing and left. Jack tried to leave quietly, but Leo turned around, and Jack offered an awkward wave.

"I'll tell you later," Jack whispered before leaving.

Outside he found Nico sitting by the ever roaring fire. The same little girl from before was there, but of course she didn't notice Nico who was staring into the fire moodily. The spirit of winter sat down near the fire as well. He wouldn't be able to speak to his friend, but maybe Nico would get up and move to more appropriate place to speak. Connor and Travis wouldn't notice he was missing; not for a couple minutes at least.

"Hello," the girl gave him a kind smile. Everything about her just seemed inviting. Mousy brown hair, odd, but calm red eyes, and a nice air of warmth around her. Despite the fact she was cloaked in brown fabrics she didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat as she stroked the fire with a metal stick.

"Hi," Jack scooted a little away from the fire as he felt what little frost was on his hoody melt away.

"I'm Hestia," her voice was soft and calming.

"Goddess of Hearth and Home," Nico supplied without even looking at Jack, "address her as 'my lady'."

"It's an honour to meet you, my lady," Jack said, albeit a bit awkwardly, "I'm Jack."

"The new camper," she nodded an affirmative, "this is a sad day. The camp is not usually like this."

"So I was told," Jack played with a loose thread of his shirt.

"Chiron told me you had no home," Hestia looked at Jack, and he could've sworn she was seeing right to his centre, "but I can feel it inside of you. You have a lot of people who care for you. Why do you abandon them to come here?"

Jack stopped in his tracks. She was obviously talking about the Guardians; that much he could tell.

"Because they don't like these kinds of people," Jack's answer was slow and thoughtful, "they never have."

"So you gave up them for this?" She questioned, though not rudely.

"I don't want them to get hurt," the winter spirit hung his head.

"That is the true mark of a family man," Hestia smiled softly at him, "people who do not believe in the importance of family rarely find they truly belong here."

"So this was some sort of test?" Jack questioned, glaring slightly at Nico.

"I'm making sure that no one hurts _my_ family. I apologise if I have offended you," she shook her head, "I am so often forgotten during the years."

"Oh," Jack murmured.

The winter spirits head whipped to the side as he heard the conch shell blow three times. He didn't know what it meant; but Jamie had told him that in his school, three siren blasts meant some sort of emergency. He jumped to his feet and tried to find the source of the problem.

"Thalia's Pine," Nico gasped as he disappeared into the shadows.

"Sorry, my lady. Can I borrow that-" Jack jumped to his feet and looked at the poker that she handed over before pausing for a moment, "-I'll come back to talk to you, I promise."

Running up to the hill yet again, he narrowly missed a jet of fire, the heat singing his hair. From behind the barrier, he could see the animals swarming around someone. Heart missing a beat, he hoped it wasn't Connor. Holding the poker he steadied himself and stepped outside. Instantly the wind welcomed him, but he brushed it away and began an onslaught against the monsters.

Nico had already brought down a lot of them. Though they were stupid, they worked in numbers, using their large amount to beat down any foe. The son of Hades seemed to be standing fine on his own.

"What do three sirens mean?" Jack questioned Nico as he beat down the monsters, freezing the in place instead of killing them.

"Council meeting," Nico grunted as he sliced through a creature cleanly, "go get whoevers stuck in there."

Jack vaulted into the air and with a great gust of wind blew the creatures away to reveal a Satyr, who seemed to be trying to fend them off with acorns and wooden pipes.

"I don't think they're working," Jack commented with a smirk as he stamped his foot and froze five monsters in place.

"I know," the Satyr kicked out with his hoofed leg and destroyed one of the animals, "what are these things?"

"I don't know," Jack sent a gale of ice towards a group and watched as they froze.

He heard a tune behind him and spun; "is that Hillary Duff?" he questioned.

"Oh, sorry, it was supposed to be Muskrat Love," the satyr brayed angry, barely avoiding having a finger pecked off.

"This is getting us nowhere," Jack grumbled angrily. It was like fighting nightmares. There seemed to be a never ending flow of them.

"I hate doing this," the satyr muttered before opening his mouth and screaming.

He didn't know such a gangly person could scream like that. The monsters began flying around in a frenzy at the sound, banging into each other in a hurry to get away. They cleared out quickly, leaving the three of them on the hill, with only frozen monsters as proof of their battle.

"I hate doing that," the Satyr repeated as he braced himself on his furry knees.

"It's certainly effective," Jack commented.

"I'm Grover Underwood," the satyr offered a hand, "thanks."

"Jack Overland," he smirked, "and no problem."

"Nice power you've got there. Son of Hecate?" Grover questioned.

"Hermes," Jack corrected.

"But-"

"Please don't tell anyone," Jack tried to look guilty. He hated tricking people like this, but he couldn't risk Grover questioning anything, "this is the only home I have and if they find out they might-"

"Your secrets safe with me," Grover clapped him on the shoulder, "it's the least I can do…..can you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Jack questioned. All he could smell was strawberries.

"Smells like…underworld.," Grover shuddered and clopped over near Nico, who stood exceptionally still as Grover sniffed the surrounding area.

"A camper passed away here," Jack tried to draw Grover away.

"Oh," Grover looked ashamed, "we better get inside. Those things will be back."

**Jack's beginning to understand a Demigod life; maybe it isn't as perfect as it seems.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know North's official story but I'm mixing it in with my own headcanon.**

Mortal; Jack was becoming mortal. Just the sound of the word sent a strong pang through his chest.

Nico stayed in the shadow for the rest of the day, watching Jack, sure that his fellow Guardian couldn't see him. The son of Hades gave his friend a quick once over. After fighting a new streak of brown had appeared in his hair; but the formerly white haired guardian didn't notice. Despite the fact he was becoming mortal, Jack's aura and life force was healthier and happier than ever before. So to Nico it seemed that nothing unhealthy, per say, was happening to his friend.

Did that mean it could possibly work for him?

Jack could be seen by everyone now, he was attending camp, and he was interacting with people. Certainly the Guardian of Fun would be having a great time. Nico wanted that. Back when he was mortal he had liked being alone; but becoming a Guardian made him realise that there was a difference between wanting to be alone, and feeling alone. The Guardians kept him company, but it wasn't the company he wanted.

Setting his sights on the only possible opportunity that could make him mortal, Nico broke into Thoth's library and took out a couple of books on monsters through mythology. Setting himself up on the porch of the Big House, he began immersing himself into the books. If he could find what was controlling those monsters, he could find who took Jacks staff, and then find who was making him mortal. Strike up a deal. Nico certainly had enough access to jewels and riches.

For a fleeting moment he found himself wondering how the Guardians would feel. Betrayed was the biggest word in Nico's head. Surely they would understand though, right? He was the Guardian of family; he wanted a family, he wanted to be a part of his godly family; and he certainly didn't want to outlive his friends.

He read until the sunset, and even through dinner, not even flinching as a camper came close to walking through him. His eyes were watering with pain from strain and his head was pounding, but he was determined. He had worked through Egyptian, Greek, Roman and even some Hindu mythology and come up with nothing.

"Hey Nico," Leo climbed up the stairs of the Big House, obviously having left dinner early.

"Hi," Nico rubbed his eyes. He needed to sleep.

"Thanks for coming and getting me," Leo sat down next to him.

"You need to get back?" Nico didn't even look at him.

"I think I'll stay the night, the cabins pretty down at the moment, they need my sense of humour to cheer them up," the smile was obvious in Leo's voice, "and I am cabin head. Chiron said to expect a couple more meetings….I have been forgetting my duties a bit."

"Nyssa doesn't mind," Nico commented as he closed the large book and picked up a papyrus scroll.

In the distance everyone was heading towards the camp fire. No doubt Apollo cabin would lead the party with songs while the Hermes cabin would try and regal everybody with stories. Tonight's camp fire would probably go long into the night; it always did when spirits needed to be lifted.

"You going to come?" Leo stood up, "it won't be the same without your smiling-" Nico scowled at him "-bright face."

Nico rolled his eyes.

"Come on," Leo attempted to heft him to his feet, but Nico remained grounded.

Leo soon gave up and left Nico alone. The son of Hades rubbed his tired eyes before sighing and packing his books away. He walked slowly towards the camp fire and stayed in the shadows to watch.

"In honor of our new camper," Connor was standing up, arm around his brothers shoulder, "I vote that we regale him with tales of our many adventures-"

"-like the time with the golden mango-"

"-or the chocolate bunnies on Demeter's roof-"

"-or the real bunnies in the Demeter cabin-"

"That wasn't funny! It was spring!" A daughter of Demeter called, making some of the campers chuckle.

"Poor animals; it was hard to find them good homes," Nico heard Chiron mutter with a shake of his head.

A child of Athena- whom Nico didn't know the name of- stood up suddenly and pointed to the sky in wonder. Nico craned his head upwards. High in the sky the Aurora Borealis shimmered in the sky, dancing between blue, greens, pinks and purples, looking very much like a fancy light show. Everyone paused and looked upwards, sighing in wonder; all except Nico and Jack. The two met gazes in worry.

"Maybe we won't even need a story tonight," Chiron wondered out loud, "perhaps will should all head down to Fireworks Beach and enjoy the show."

"We can't make smores on the beach," a son of Hermes deadpanned.

"Just this once you have my permission to start a fire, Tristan, but only this once," Chiron smiled as he began herding campers towards the beach.

Percy turned and looked at his cousin, gesturing for him to follow, but Nico shook his head. Percy's face fell for a moment before heading off towards the shores where a fire could already be seen. Jack lingered as well, walking lightly over to Nico who was frowning slightly.

"I guess I can't exactly turn up like this," Jack tugged at his hair, "can you make up a lie for me?"

Nico nodded and that made Jack's brow crinkle.

"Are you okay? You're more silent then usual lately," concern laced Jacks voice.

"I'm fine," Nico rubbed his eyes sleepily, "just a little behind on sleep."

"For a moment I thought you may have been concerned about me," Jack pouted momentarily before smirking.

"Don't push your luck," Nico replied as he hefted his bag higher onto his shoulder and gave a fake smile, "go have fun."

As Nico disappeared from the Camp the smile faded from his face. He breathed a sigh of relief as the dark and thick shadows encompassed him. At the moment his mind was a moment of mismatched thoughts and feelings. He honestly hadn't felt this confused since he first became a spirit.

"Ah, Nico! You always come quickly!" North's booming voice filled his ears even before Nico had departed from the shadows, "and always to right room, you must explain how you know what room!"

As always, Santoff Clauson was busy with yetis stomping around and elves scurrying underfoot. North was sitting at twelve seater table, staring at blueprints while munching on already half eaten cookies (courtesy of the elves no doubt). It seemed Nico was the first to arrive. He didn't hesitate to make himself comfortable, sitting down and kicking his feet onto the table, slumping back slightly.

"Jack can't come," Nico supplied as he took off his bag and unclipped his sword, placing them on the floor, "he tried to spread some snow near the equator and burned himself out."

"He is okay though, no?" North questioned in concern.

"Sleeping like a baby in a snow drift. I just checked on him," Nico found the lies coming easily to him.

"He does not realise how delicate he is. He is like snowflake, so fragile!" North shook his head and pulled at his beard, "he needs more meat on his bones!"

"Good luck with that," Nico commented as he watched elves scurry past with what seemed to be a stick of dynamite. Reaching down, Nico plucked it from the elves hands and placed it on the table.

"You know what would be nice, North?" An Australian twang filled the air, "if you would put a nice warm place for me to travel to. I'm bloody sick of getting snow between ma pads."

"Ah, Bunny, good to see you too," North chimed cheerily.

The large Pooka grumbled something to himself as he set himself down near the fire.

"Oh, thank goodness I'm not the last one," Tooth suddenly swooped in, the baby teeth fluttering close behind, "I was caught up taking care of a this glorious canine-"

Thankfully, Sandy arrived before Tooth could continue her story. Nico liked Tooth, but he didn't like teeth. To him, they were just things to help him eat. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Good, we are all here-"

"Frostbites still not here," Bunny pointed out.

"He is sleeping," North gestured for everyone to sit, "we still go on; I did need his input but I do believe Nico's knowledge will suffice."

"What's so bad that you had to drag me away from my warren?" Bunny hunched by the table.

"Sprites are dying," North set down his cookie, "we are reaching about fifty, far too high. They are all winter sprites, I am concerned."

Nico realised it was the same problem going on in the godly realm. Sprites to the Guardians were weak spirits, not quiet powerful enough to do more then spread weak winds and words. To Demigods they were Nymphs.

"That's godly," Nico commented, "the gods are looking into it at the moment. Of course, if you would just allow me to speak to them maybe we could work together-"

"We do not interact with those kind," North grumbled while Sandy began to shake his head wildly behind the white haired man.

"You keep saying that and yet you refuse to tell me why," Nico met all of the Guardians gazes, "you're talking about my family like they started a war with you. Frankly, I don't find it very nice."

"We should just tell him," Tooth fluttered near North's shoulders, "they are his family."

Sandy nodded.

"I dunno mate," Bunny frowned.

"Just tell me," Nico cut in, breaking up any further argument.

North rubbed his chin before saying; "long time ago, we trusted gods. They didn't know about what we really were, but they trusted us. Until they found out that some spirits had been faking being gods. They call for all spirits as such to be hunted and killed on claims of betrayal. We lost many a good friends because of them. We cannot risk them finding out about us."

Nico took a moment to process it before coming up with his own counter argument, "but they're my family. I've gone to war-"

"-you've seen war?-"

"-with them. I've lead my father's armies. They trust me," Nico ignored Tooth's surprised comment, "maybe I was chosen as a Guardian to help mend the gap between the two."

"You're a real dipstick, you know that?" Bunny rolled his eyes.

"Dipstick?"

"It's an idiot-"

"No offence, mate, but all you're gods think you're dead. Only seven people outside of us know you're alive. How do you think the gods would react if you suddenly lob in; claiming to be brought back by something they don't even think can exist?" Bunny finished his rant with an exclamation of "your minds gone walkabout!"

Nico deflated inside, but on the outside he remained stoic; "Percy can make them believe."

"Bunny's right, Nico," Tooth fluttered near to him, vibrant eyes locking onto his, "our worlds aren't supposed to meet."

"Then why would I be chosen? The Fates cut my line, and Man in the Moon certainly didn't tie it back together just so I can help you with Pitch," Nico pointed out, "how can you ditch the idea when you haven't even tried it?"

"Bloody oath, Nico!" Bunny exclaimed, "we tried it once, and people died."

"Well then there's nothing you can do about the spirits," Nico folded his arms over his chest, "the gods already have their noses in it."

The other Guardians deflated slightly.

"I am sorry to have gathered you here. But please, keep your eyes open, we must be wary," North commented with finality.

Sandy offered a sad wave before disappearing while Tooth was shouting off orders to her mini fairies before she had even left. Bunny muttered darkly about snow as he bounded out, looking not too pleased at the thought of stepping into the cold element again.

Nico picked up his things and began finding a good enough shadow to travel through.

"We realise this is hard for you, Nico," North's voice was soft and warm, making Nico pause misstep, "you must miss your family. But you must understand, it is better if our kinds stay separated."

"Sometimes, I think you guys have forgotten that I'm not as old as you guys," Nico stuck his hands into his pockets and spun around on his heel to face Santa, "the people I love are still alive and they will be for a while. I don't mean to get mad at you, North, but soon enough I'm going to have to see my friends die. Is it too much to ask that I get in contact with the only family that I won't outlive?"

North seemed ataken back for a moment; "I know how you're feeling, Nico," the large man stood up, "come walk with me."

Nico considered just leaving but he then began to follow North. Sometimes, he found being silent wasn't enough. Nico was a very private person, and because of that, he felt that he sometimes got over looked. He supposed it was his own fault.

The usually jolly man stopped in a large room. A bed bigger then any Nico had ever seen rested in the centre of the room, while toy prototypes made of ice littered the floor. Shelves and shelves of books covered the wall, broken up occasionally by photos and drawing.

"You have heard stories of Mrs Claus, no?" North questioned as he headed towards a picture that rested right near the bed.

"Of course," Nico replied.

"The story came from the legend of my wife, Martha. Lovely women," North shook his head, "when I became Guardian, she was left behind. She became old and withered; but no less beautiful! Her grave still stands."

Nico remained quiet.

"You see, Nico, we have all been forced to see someone we love outlive us. Bunny is the last of his race, Jack outlived his little sister, even Sandy lost a child he was particularly attached to. The thing is that we must learn to let go for the sake of the children. To quote great man, '_it does not do one good to dwell on the past and forget about the present,_' or something like that."

"Did you just quote Dumbledore?" Nico's brow crinkled.

"You are missing point," North knelt down to eye level and suddenly Nico felt like a small child again, "children come first."

Nico felt like saying, _'but I'm hardly past being a child myself,' _but instead he just said; "so you're saying that I just have to put up with it?"

"Not my exact words, but yes," North shrugged and stood, "you are stuck between two worlds, my friend. Perhaps you have to let one go."

North began to walk away.

"Perhaps I do," Nico's voice was hardly louder than a whisper, and by the time North turned to ask what had been said, Nico was gone.

**Australian Slang:**

**(its) Gone walkabout: Not there; gone**

**Dipstick: Idiot**

**Lob in: Drop in too see someone**


	7. Chapter 7

The remembrance of Harley had concluded about three hours ago, at eleven o'clock, and everyone had flocked away for the night. Jack had laid on his bed for about half an hour, mind running at a million miles an hour, skin itching as he attempted to lie still. Below him on the ground, five of his cabin mates where playing a game of Poker (betting with various low grade fireworks), while a couple stayed up chatting. The spirit winter was going to wait until everyone was asleep, but he knew from experience that everyone wasn't sound asleep until around one o'clock in the morning, and he found he couldn't wait.

Jack jumped down from his bunk and landed on the hardwood floor. Those who were awake looked at him as the floor board creaked, but then just shrugged and looked back to their games. The Guardian found he had no trouble leaving the cabin.

The camp fire was now no more than embers, and nearly everyone was asleep, dreaming without the aid of the Sandman. The camp was quiet, except for the anguished cry of Harpies who lost their hand at cards, and the occasional braying from the Pegasus stables. The air, as always, was warm, with a hint of a cool breeze coming off the sea. The smell of strawberries, pine needles and the ocean filled the air. It seemed like a paradise. Certainly if this was a normal summer camp, parents would be waiting for years just to get their kids in.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you wished to look at it,), this wasn't a normal summer camp.

For a moment, Jack gazed around, trying to think of a place where he could be by himself for the night. He looked at the forest in the distance before jogging lightly and soundlessly towards it. He breathed a sigh of relief as he was encompassed by the trees. In this camp, he didn't feel right, he knew he didn't belong. The epitome of winter didn't like being kept in one place, he didn't like walking everywhere, and he most certainly didn't like what Percy had told him.

The Guardian of Fun knew that children died. Not only was Nico a prime example (he did after all cater for dead children), but Jack had been present through many wars and political corruption. He'd seen teenagers pretend to be men in the Civil War, he'd been present in the concentration camps in World War Two, and he even was very aware about child labour around the world. What struck him though was that these children died because of what they were born into. From the moment they were born, they didn't have a chance.

Jack knew that they trained to defend themselves and he tried to convince himself that should make himself feel better. But it only made himself sadder. They fought other children! They injured themselves and played war games. While they considered it fun, Jack considered it concerning. Part of him told himself not to be surprised. Nico died when he was thirteen and lost a sister due to godly related situations. Sometimes he found himself wondering if demigods ever got to experience normal childhoods.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he sat himself a top a giant collection of rocks, partially remembering Percy saying something about it being called 'Zeus' Fist'. He didn't think it looked like a fist. If anything, it looked like a pile of dog poo. Sighing to himself, Jack gazed up as snow began to flitter into the clearing. Without his staff, he had relied solely on his inner strength to stop frost from spreading and snow from falling within the camp. Now, alone, he let out the power stored within him. Frost cracked out along the rocks and grass, while the snow continued to fall, dusting everything within a seven metre radius of Jack.

"That is so much better," Jack sighed in relief as he played with a newly appearing strand of brown hair, "why hasn't Hermes found my staff? I'm sick of being here!-"

"Some of us are trying to sleep, you know," A female voice jarred Jack out of his rant.

A short and petite women with wispy amber hair that framed her elfish face commented as she stepped out of the line of the trees. Wearing a green draping dress with sandals, you'd think she'd be called, but Jack knew she was a Nymph- a Dryad if he wasn't mistaken.

"Sorry," Jack sat up straighter, "not used to being around..." he didn't finish but instead gestured all around him.

"It's fine," she smiled at him from a distance, "most of these Dryads are so old that their hearings going. Just try and keep it down, please. Some of us are still young."

"Sorry," Jack gazed down at his lap.

"Is this snow your doing?" The Dryad questioned as she caught a snow flake on the tip of her finger.

"I can get rid of it if you want," Jack replied.

"It's nice," she smiled at him again; "it never snows in here. A nice change of scenery."

This time Jack smiled at her.

"Wait," she paused mid-step, "are you Jack Overland?"

"Yes…" Jack answered carefully and moved quickly as the Dryad attempted to hug him, "whoa, personal bubble was just popped."

The Dryad blushed green with chlorophyll as she took a step back, "I'm sorry. You're the one who saved Grover! I'm Juniper, his fiancé! I'm so grateful!"

"Oh," Jack managed to say. He swore he remembered telling Grover not to spread the story of his abilities around.

"Wait," she said again, picking up the snow and rubbing it between her fingers, "you're a son of Hermes? How can you do this?"

She moved closer again and Jack caught a whiff of her strong scent. She was shorter than he was, but that didn't stop her from reaching up and touching the frost that dusted his jacket.

"You're him!" She gasped suddenly, backing away, "you're Jack Frost!"

The spirit of winter shushed her, pressing a finger to his lips.

"The Seasonal Nymphs said you existed, but I always thought you were an old Pines tale, oh, the others aren't going to believe this!-"

Jack shushed her again, louder; "people here aren't supposed to know."

She blushed again.

"Are you here to find out why the Nymphs are dying?" Her voice was just above a whisper.

"Partially," Jack lied.

"I hear whispers from the eastern wind that it's not a monster," Juniper tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "they say it's something with the ability to create and take life."

"Eastern wind…" Jack trailed off, remembering brief interactions with it, "the Northern Winds didn't mention anything."

"It only just came in with the cool front from L.A." Juniper explained, "you will do something about it, won't you?"

"I'll try," Jack promised.

A soft breeze blew through the clearing and ruffled their hair, carrying the sound of a hunting horn throughout the forest, making the two spirits pause.

"A Hunter's are here," Juniper spun in the direction of Thalia's Pine.

"I better go," Jack's hand rested in a pile of snow lovingly.

"Your secrets safe with me," Juniper promised, "we don't want a repeat of Old Man Winter."

"You know about him?" Jack gasped as he spun around to face her again.

"The seasonal sprites were in disarray after it. Not to forget the Winds. They were so furious…."

"Maybe I'll come back to visit you," a wolf howled in the distance.

Jack jogged through the forest again, stopping just short of the main section of camp. He could see Thalia on one of the massive wolves riding through camp, alone, with no other hunters for support. Jack hid in the tree line and watched as she jumped off the wolf and bid it farewell before knocking on the door of the Poseidon cabin.

Edging closer, he watched as lights in the Big House sprung to life, and the door to the Poseidon cabin opened. From his position he could see that Percy had major bed head and what seemed to be drool staining his shirt. He couldn't hear the words, but Percy nodded and disappeared for a moment, returning with Grover, who seemed to have been bunking in his friends cabin.

Silent as a shadow, Jack followed behind the trio, watching as they headed into the Big House. Jack knew he wouldn't be able to enter without being caught out, so he slipped under the open window where the three, plus Chiron, had gotten situated.

"Couldn't this wait until morning?" Percy was groaning, "I have work tomorrow and if I fall asleep again-"

"This is serious," Thalia cut him off.

"So is my job," Percy could be heard grumbling.

"We can't find what's killing the seasonal nymphs. Milady cannot use our recourses anymore due to the upcoming Hell Hound mating season; we can't just ignore that. She's issued a quest and requested Percy," Thalia sounded exhausted.

"She picked a male, wow-"

"Percy, let Thalia continue," Chiron cut him off.

"She wants me in charge, but apart from that, the usual quest guidelines. Three others of my choosing and a meeting with the oracle," Thalia could be heard shifting in her seat.

"I don't meant to sound like an idiot-"

"-you do it without trying-" Thalia cut in.

"-but can I have a bit of a backstory?" Percy asked.

"About two weeks ago, we noticed that Seasonal Sprites had begun dying. After investigating, we hunted it down to _something_ that can control these mutated animals. We've tried hard to figure out what it is, but we couldn't think of anything. All we know is that whatever it is has it out for winter spirits," Thalia finished.

"Who will you take?" Chiron questioned in a soft voice.

"Those two, obviously," Thalia must've been referring to Grover and Percy, "and though I would like another girl, I'll take Jack as well."

"Which Jack?" Chiron asked Thalia.

"Fro- Overland," Thalia caught herself, "Jack Overland."

"He's only been at Camp for a day," Chiron tried to reason, "according to the Stoll twins, he only capable at short range archery."

"He's connected to this," Thalia lied smoothly, "if he's from Pennsylvania, why was he in Canada? He wasn't there by mistake."

Jack tried not to laugh at Thalia's lie, but a little chuckle escaped him.

"It seems he turns up in many places he isn't mean to be," Chiron's voice mused, "come on out then, Jack."

Jack stood up and pulled himself onto the window ledge, "my ears were burning."

"I'm sure they were," Chiron sighed heavily and while he did, Jack noticed a curler still half tangled in his tail, "have you heard enough to understand what is going on?"

"Yep," Jack replied cheekily.

"You shall leave at first light," Chiron rubbed his tired face, "I wish you the best of luck, and may the gods be on your side."

**-This is a Line Break-**

The other three went to bed but Jack stayed awake, searching around camp for anything that could replace his staff for the moment. It was all so sudden that Jack didn't know what to do. Percy had said around a yawn that quests usually appeared like this, but gods usually didn't request demigods to go for them (unless it was stated so in a prophecy). It was around five o'clock when he decided to break into the armoury. He easily undid the lock and slipped inside, switching on the light, trying to see if he could find anything.

So far at the camp he'd only succeeded in archery. Even then it was barley passable. Back when he was mortal he used to be in charge of hunting hares and rabbits for stews and reserve meat for winter. The bows here certainly were bigger than the little hunting bow he used. Since Thalia already had archery covered, Jack decided to go to his preferred weapon, a staff.

It took him an hour and a lot of swearing to locate something that he could fight with. He found a bronze staff, taller than he was, being used to support a shelf of helmets. In his excitement, he yanked the staff out and sent the helmets raining down onto the floor loudly. He winced as the noise broke the morning, but then shrugged and gripped the staff. For a moment he thought it might've been a pike, but after a quick inspection he found it was indeed a staff that could be folded down like a tent pole.

"Nice," Jack ran his hands along the cooling metal. It was simple, undecorated, and quiet bland. A perfect replacement.

Exiting the armoury he quickly put the padlock back in place and started heading towards the Poseidon cabin. First light was just breaking over the sound, and he wanted to get out into the world as soon as possible. He was excited; he now had a chance to find his staff for himself. Part of him felt bad for going against what Hermes wanted, but honestly, did the man just expect him to sit around while he turned mortal.

Knocking on the door, he heard a muffled 'come in', before opening it up. He paused for a moment in the threshold. This place certainly wasn't like the Hermes cabin. While the Hermes cabin was crowded, slightly run down and noisy, this place was the complete opposite. The walls glowed blues and greens due to the lighting, a fountain shimmered in the corner with a rainbow, and all the bunk beds were in perfect condition. Part of him felt annoyed that Hermes had such a rundown cabin for so many children while Percy got all of this for himself.

Shrugging away his bias, he walked in and looked at Percy who was in the midst of packing a small bag, while Grover was nibbling on an alarm clock nervously.

"What've you got there?" Percy questioned, looking at the collapsed pole in his hand.

Jack snapped it out to its full length, scaring Grover so much that he fell off the bed, "I found it in the armoury," he shrugged.

"I think we used that to get Harpies out of the trees once," Percy mused before shrugging, "if you can fight with it, that's all that matters."

"Good, you're awake," Thalia came into the cabin, looking ready to go, "ten minutes then we roll out. Where's Rachel?"

"Rachel?" Jack questioned.

"She's the oracle," Grover commented as he slung his own bag over his shoulder.

"I think she's at her apartment," Percy muttered as he zipped his bag closed and began to head out of his cabin.

"Uh," Grover paused, "shouldn't you, uh, get some shoes?"

Everyone turned to look at Jack, who in turn was staring at his feet; "why?"

"You do look kind of homeless," Percy commented, "it's not like it's a big deal, it is New York, but if we have to leave the city, you're going to draw attention."

"I'm not wearing shoes," Jack curled his toes, "and I'm not changing my pants, if that's what you're leaning towards."

Percy moved towards a dresser besides his bed and pulled out a pair of long jeans, "just chuck these on over those pants."

Jack grumbled and took the pants. They were too long but he still put them on. The waist was too big, but Percy handed him a belt. Thankfully, they covered his bare feet.

"Can we go now, or are we just going to talk about my sense of fashion a little longer?" Jack quipped as he stuffed his hands and fold down staff into his pockets.

"Right,"

As soon as they crossed the border, the wind greeted Jack, making chuckle at seemingly nothing. The others sent him a concerned look, but he waved them away, silently relishing the feeling of fresh snow between his toes. When it came time to climb into the _Delphi Strawberry Co. _van, he found himself scooping up the snow in his hands and taking it with him into the car.

"Hey, Argus, can you take us to Central Park West?" Percy asked the driver who just nodded in response. From the back of the van Jack tried not to look too repulsed by the hundred eyes that littered the man's body. Everyone else seemed fine with it.

"Argus, can you turn up the heater? I'm freezing my hoofs off back here," Grover asked the many eyed driver, who blinked all his eyes at once before reaching to turn up the heat.

Thalia, Percy and Jack all shared amused glances and stifled laughs behind their hands.

"What is it? Is there aluminium in my teeth?" Grover questioned as he began to pick at his teeth, making the three break out into pearls of laughter.


	8. Chapter 8

The spirit of winter usually wasn't one to spend time appreciating buildings or décor, due to the fact he usually slept in trees, but this place…._wow_. Resting across the street from Central Park, the rails glimmered brightly and the marble steps seemed to shine. The doormen wore expensive suits and even the doorway canopy seemed to be made of expensive material.

"The Oracle lives here?" Jack breathed as he stood outside the van, "I mean I'm not a big home expert, but I know this place has to be expensive."

"Her dad's loaded," Percy commented as he stretched with a grunt, "and she runs art charity auctions and a couple environmental companies."

The four of them began up the steps, going slow for Grover who was using crutches and fake feet to hide his hooves, and all the while they could see the doormen watching them with keen judgemental eyes. When they did reach the doors, they hesitated in opening them. After a quick once over they opened the doors and allowed them access. The whole lobby was bigger than Percy's apartment, filled with a reception desk, comfortable couches, various tables and even its own little newsstand.

Percy didn't seem amazed. He merely shifted in his shirt as if feeling underdressed before heading to the reception desk.

"Excuse me?" he questioned the tight haired lady sitting behind the expensive counter, "is Rachel Elizabeth Dare in?"

The women clicked at her computer for a moment, not even sparing a glance; "I'm not at liberty to disclose that information. Unless your name is on their registered guest list I am afraid you will have to find another way to contact Ms Dare."

"Can you check the list, I'm sure she put me on there," Percy leant on the counter, much like a child would when their mother was buying something, "I'm Percy Jackson."

The women let out a silent huff before clicking away again. Jack watched as the annoyance leaked from her tight face and was replaced with corny cheeriness.

"I am so sorry Mr Jackson," the women said hurriedly, standing up behind her desk and picking up an elevator card as she went, "it seems you are on her list. We run a very upper class business here; our guests rely on us to be thorough."

"I understand," Percy seemed to be resisting the urge to laugh, "is Rachel in?"

"You're just a couple minutes behind her, actually," the women lifted up a part of the counter and entered onto their side, "if you follow me, I'll lead you upstairs."

Percy smiled at his three companions before following the lady into the elevator. Jack took his time, crinkling his toes against the marble, smelling the sweet winter lilies that would surely be just about out of season. For a moment Jack wondered what it would be to live in a place like this. He just couldn't imagine it.

As Jack entered the elevator, the doors closed and they shot upwards for a smooth filled with even smoother jazz. All the while the attendant chattered away to Percy about useless things while Percy pretended to be interested. Grover seemed t be eying the elevator railings while Thalia was tapping her foot impatiently. Eventually the doors slid open and they came face to face with a vibrant green wall.

"Here you are," the attendant smiled at them, "Ms Dare has been alerted. Enjoy your visit."

The doors closed and Jack could hear her mutter '_now I can where that Dare girl gets her fashion sense from.'_

"Oh, ignore her," a voice commented from a room to the left, "come in! I was expecting you!"

"When don't you expect us?" Percy joked as he entered the room.

The whole place was filled with paintings. All over the room was littered canvases, charcoal drawings, and Jack could even see a couple of those drawing tablets poking out. A women stood in the centre, staring a large canvas that depicted a large full moon and the Northern Lights on it. Her hair was red and vibrant, tied up in a messy bun, while her shorts were ripped and her white singlet stained the colours of the rainbow by paint.

"So, what do you think?" She moved away from the painting and turned around.

Her eyes locked with Jack's. Icy blue and warm brown met vivid green. For a moment neither blinked. Eventually she tore her gaze away from him.

"I don't think we've met," she tucked a paintbrush into the mess that was her hair, "I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"She's really fond of her full name," Thalia looked at the painting.

"Jack Overland," he shook her hand.

"I would usually say I already know that but for once I don't; and that's a big thing for me. But obviously you aren't here for pleasantries," her words came out at a mile a minute.

"We need a prophecy," Percy stood inspecting a rather abstract piece of art that leant against a wall.

"I painted that one with my toes," she said proudly before waving them out of the room.

She sat them down in a lounge room and offered some drinks. The four of them declined, though Grover did help himself to a spare piece of chicken wire that had been lying around from an art project.

"This must be serious if you two are onto it," Rachel looked at Thalia and Percy.

"It's seasonal nymphs," Percy ruffled his hair, "they're dying."

"Oh," Rachel said and Jack back up slightly when he saw her eyes began to glow green, "oh-"

Suddenly, it wasn't just her speaking.

"_The darkness is fading,  
And time is degrading.  
Winter is dying,  
And the gods aren't complying.  
Two worlds must meet to face an old foe,  
Or to Hades winter must go."_

Percy managed to catch Rachel before she collapsed out of her chair.

"What was that?" Jack watched as green vapour floated out of Rachel's mouth.

"That was the Oracle," Grover shuddered a little bit, "even though she isn't a mummy anymore, she still gives me the creeps."

"Everything gives you the creeps," Thalia muttered as she watched Rachel's eyes flicker open.

"I hate it when that happens," she pushed herself up into a sitting position before tucking away a piece of stray hair, "did I say anything interesting?"

"A little," Percy rubbed his brow, "but we didn't get any help with where to go."

"I think the oracle already tried to tell me about that," Rachel stood up, a little unsteady on her feet at first before she had easily gotten into a smooth stride, "see, I've been dreaming about the same things over and over again. I figured the oracle was trying to tell me something, so I painted the dreams."

They were in a different room now, one with paintings shown proudly on the walls. The first thing Jack noticed was that there was always a full moon in the picture. On the horizon, high in the sky, even being overlooked by the sun, the moon was always there.

"These mountains," Rachel gestured to the picture, "I've been seeing them for the past couple of days."

"Well that narrows it down," Jack commented sarcastically as he tore his eyes away from the moon that rested between two peaks, "there's hundreds of mountain ranges in the world, most of which are snow-capped-"

"You see that?" Rachel shushed him with a wave of her hand as she pointed to a cabin that rested oat the base of the mountain, "that's a rangers station at the Durango Mountain Resort."

"How would you know that?" Jack questioned.

"My dad owns the hotel," Rachel shrugged casually, "I ran away once and hid in there until they found me. Couldn't forget a place like that. What I do know is that there's something in these mountains. I hear it whisper."

"You didn't bother to bring this up?" Thalia asked as she inspected the painting.

"I have an Oracle in my head, whispering isn't uncommon," Rachel turned to face the daughter of Zeus.

"What did the voices say?" Percy asked his friend.

"'_I'm waiting,'"_ Rachel said in a fake manly voice, "a really corny line, actually, like out of a bad action movie."

"Well, at least we know where we're going," Percy ruffled his hair and hugged Rachel before saying "we should check Pen- station for any trains for that area."

"I hate trains," Grover muttered to himself as he eyed a paintbrush, only to be stopped with a glare from Rachel.

"Good luck," Rachel swept some hair from her eyes, "you'll need it."

**Sorry for the short chapter. I won't be updating for about a week and a half because I'll be on holiday. **


	9. Chapter 9

Grover was worried. Well, he was usually worried about one thing or another, but now he was right down concerned. His nose was twitching madly and his pupils growing large and small as he took in the smell. A smell had been following them, one as fresh as a winter breeze, but that wasn't what concerned him, it was another smell that had turned up less than five minutes ago. It reeked of death and dirt and it made the satyr shudder. It smelt like Nico.

The satyr rubbed his nose furiously. He knew the smell of the young deceased demigod well, he had after all been the one to track down him and his sister, but he hadn't smelt it this strong in years. His nose was itching just at the smell of it. Sure, occasionally he would catch a whiff from the Hades cabin or even Percy who seemed to always have that slight smell about him, but now it was so strong he could've sworn that the son of Hades was somewhere in the train terminal with him.

He cast he gaze over to his three companions who sat a small café. They were talking away happily, oblivious to Grover's discomfort. Grover himself had offered to get the tickets, despite the fact he was using his crutches and fake feet, he just wanted to get away from the smell. For a moment he focused on Jack; the strange son of Hermes with ice powers. He smelt odd as well. He smelt like the Hunters….he had the smell of moon about him.

"Next," came a monotone voice.

Grover spent ten minutes buying connecting train tickets to the mountains. They had a lot of travel ahead of them. He thanked the lady before tucking the tickets away and using his crutches to fake limp over to where his friends sat.

"So, what did the others say?"

Grover paused for a moment as he heard Percy speak. He was still some distance away, but his sharp ears were picking up what his friend was saying. Surprisingly, no on responded for about a minute until Thalia said;

"That makes sense,"

Where they on a phone? No, stupid question. Shaking his head he reached the table and everyone instantly froze. He pretended not to notice as he pulled out the tickets and sat down.

"We have a lot of travel," Grover commented as he straightened his Rasta hat.

"Fantastic. I love travelling," Jack commented happily with a trademark Hermes smirk.

Setting his crutches down, Grover breathed in deeply and nearly gagged, ending up looking like he had swallowed his own spit. Thalia hurriedly hit her friend on the back, mistaking it for choking. Grover had adapted to the strong smell of the three demigods, but now the stench of death was so strong he found it hard to handle. When Pan had named him Lord of the wild, his sense had improved even more, and now he found it more of a curse.

"What is it?" Percy asked concerned.

"Something smells like…." Grover didn't want to say the name so instead he said, "death."

Jack stifled laughter while Percy and Thalia exchanged looks.

"What aren't you telling me?" Grover's nose was beginning adapt to the smell.

"That smell…" Jack ruffled his oddly coloured hair, "that's Nico."

"How-"

"He's my friend," Jack stuck his hands into the pockets of his sweat shirt.

"Jack's telling the truth," Thalia spoke up as she rifled through her pockets and pulled out a pen.

"You're all insane," was all Grover could manage to say.

Thalia set the pen down on the table and turned over a flyer for some Broadway show. Grover watched as the pen picked itself up and began to write on the paper. Eyes widening with fear he scuttled back a little bit. Eventually the pen settled and a light breeze blew through and wafted the paper towards him.

_At the Academy I ran into you in the halls and you got so shocked that you swung a crutch around and broke a vase._

"No way," Grover remembered that. He hadn't told anybody that. When he was searching into demigods he had collided with him and done what it said on the paper. He blinked wildly and moved back so fast that he tripped over his crutches and landed hard on his bottom.

Standing above him was a grinning Nico. Hands stuck in the pockets of his aviators jacket, hair as tousled as ever, and eyes a light and bright chocolate brown. He tried to say something, but it caught in his throat.

"That expression on your face just made my day," Nico smiled down at him.

"How…." Grover scrambled to his feet.

"Magic," Nico wiggled his fingers sarcastically.

"The moon," Jack handed over Grover's crutches.

"The moon? Of course it was the moon…" Grover said a bit faintly.

They explained to him. Well, Jack did . Nico was silent. Percy couldn't comment that it was odd, but at the moment his cousin looked rather pensive. He was turning over his mythomagic figurine in his hands, frowning slightly. Shrugging it off, Percy turned his attention back to Grover.

"Let me get this right," Grover seemed a little out of his depth, "you're Jack Frost but you're turning mortal…. he's just immortal," he looked at Nico.

"About right," Jack smirked, "anything we missed?"

"I hope not," Grover rubbed his temples looking slightly green, "this isn't natural."

"Hey, Mr Lord of the Wild, I find that offensive," Jack mocked as he leant back in his chair.

"I can't disagree with Grover," was all Nico said as he shrugged.

"Why do you smell….stronger?" Grover nursed a cup of coffee that Thalia had just returned with.

Nico shrugged.

"_Now calling all passengers to board train ST1324 …" _the lady on the intercom said in a lazy voice, continuing to drone on.

"Oh, that's us," Grover said hurriedly as he gulped down his coffee, wincing at the hotness of it. Thalia strode off ahead as Grover limped away quickly as if there was a buffet of cheese enchiladas on the train.

"Is he okay?" Jack asked as he walked at a slower pace with Percy and Nico.

"Grover's a great guy. You'll just have give him a couple minutes. I think it's just the fact that Nico's here that's making him freak out a little," Percy sent a look to his cousin, who shrugged.

The conversation stopped as they boarded the train. As the three visible people took their seats, Nico opted to pace the isles. The train wasn't very full, seeing as it was a weekday and most people were still working. They practically had a whole carriage to themselves, if you looked past the family of four that sat about five rows behind them.

True to Percy's predictions, it didn't take long for Grover to launch into a full blown conversation with Jack, who was happy to have a new friend. Thalia had moved seats to across the way and was attempting to balance a straw she had taken from the café on the tip of her finger. Nico was leaning up against the wall of the carriage, legs spread out in front of him, bouncing a drachma off his knuckles with a look of contemplation; and Percy was watching him. He found it odd that Nico seemed to have a never ending supply of Drachmae. His cousin would just pull one out of his pocket and disappear suddenly as if it were a calling card.

"I'll meet you at the final stop for this train," Nico said as if on cue as he stood up, "you can take care of my bag, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Jack said absently without even looking at his fellow Guardian.

Percy slumped in his seat and stretched out his legs. They had four hours on this train according to his ticket, before a two hour stop some state capitol that he had never been bothered to learn. He thought about what he would miss during this quest. Annabeth had wanted to go apartment hunting, he guessed that wouldn't happen. Paul wanted to take him to Montauk just to have a 'man to man' time (Percy knew he really meant father and son). He'd managed to get time off work, using the rest of his holiday time for the year. He winced as he remembered he had promised Annabeth they'd travel somewhere this year….that couldn't happen now. Sometimes he realised how hard it was being a grown up demigod.

He supposed he should count himself lucky that he made it too adulthood. Most usually didn't. He straight away thought of Nico and pushed it away. Nico was alive- so very alive. With a pang he realised Nico couldn't grow up. Sure, he had turned from looking thirteen to sixteen, but he hadn't changed a single bit since Percy first saw him back with Pitch. His hair hadn't even to have seemed to grown.

Pushing himself away from his thoughts he shifted in his seat. He didn't need those thoughts at the moment. Instead he slipped his hand into his pocket and thumbed the velvet box that contained the ring. Gold band, studded with diamonds from Poseidon's own collection. Just the touch of it made him smile.

"If you keep grinning like that while your hands in your pocket people might get the wrong idea," Thalia commented with raised eyebrows and Percy glared at her, "now that I have your attention, let's play cards."

After getting Grover and Jack to join in, the four of them began playing various card games. Jack found great amusement in making the wind blow the cards around. When they asked how there was even wind on an enclosed train, he merely smirked and shook his head.

"Hey Jack, I have a question," Thalia set down a card.

"Yeah?" He questioned as he began to kick off the jeans Percy had given him to reveal his usual tattered brown pants.

"All of you have a duty. Dreams, collecting teeth, Easter…" Thalia trailed off for a moment, "what's Nico?"

Jack's slight aversion of gaze didn't go unnoticed.

"He's the Guardian of family," Jack set down a card as frost began to slowly curl out onto his cards. Without his staff, his emotions played a larger part on his powers, thus his inability to control the thin tendrils of frost.

"I've been thinking-"

"Wow, you can actually think?" Percy quipped with a smirk.

"-he has to _do _something," Thalia ignored Percy.

"I don't think it's my place to say," Jack shrugged, "your turn Grover."

Grover cast his gaze up and guiltily placed down a half-eaten ace.

"It can't hurt to tell us," Thalia pressed.

"Is it hot in here?" Jack said suddenly as he wiggled around in his hoody.

"Temperatures gotten cooler, if anything," Percy commented as he rubbed his bare arms.

"Don't try and change the subject," Thalia smirked.

Jack set down his cards and touched the frost on his shoulder, watching as it turned to water at his touch. He cast a worried gaze and hurriedly created a snow flake that quickly dissipated into water.

"Not normal," Jack fanned his face that was quickly beginning to become flushed, "not normal at all."

"You're overheating," Thalia said in a low voice, "take off your jumper."

Jack complied. Least to say his old yellowing shirt made him look like skin and bones. He abandoned his position and headed over to a spare row of seats, lying out across them.

"I probably just need to sleep," He muttered as he ruffled his hair and rested his head against the cushion.

"Oh, what's wrong with this young man?" a new voice joined in. It had a strong British accent, like that of the royals, or someone who attempted to sound like them. They all looked up at the women whom Percy recognised as the mother from the family group up the carriage, "I was just going to the bathroom and I couldn't help but notice he looked awful flushed."

"We're fine, ma'am," Thalia gave her kindest smile, "he just gets motion sick."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say he has a touch of the flu," the women persisted, "my husband Jimmy had the flu about a week ago. Still not over it, poor thing…" she shook her head disdainfully.

"I'll just sleep it off," Jack murmured, shuddering slightly as the women pressed a hand against his brow suddenly, "do you mind?"

"That's a very high temperature for one of your kind-"

"Oh no," Percy jumped into the isle and gripped riptide, "can't we go two hours without an attack?"

"I just can't help it, my dear, he just smell's so delicious," the women smiled wickedly, showing a row of sharp pointed teeth, "can't I just have one bite?"

"Since when have monsters been polite?" Thalia armed herself with a hunting dagger.

"I'm not a monster. Such an insult-"

Jack suddenly kicked out his leg, causing a funnel of ice to hit the women and slam her into a chair across the way.

"I suggest we run," Jack forced himself to sit up, casting a weary glance at the rest of the monsters family, "now."

**I live! Couple notes; sorry about grammar/punctuation. Secondly I've gotten a job and school starts in a couple day so I'll update when I can.**


	10. Chapter 10

"If they're not monsters-" Grover paused to pant, "-what are they?"

The question was directed to Jack. The spirit of winter had been flushed to begin with, but now he was mirroring a tomato, his face a bright vibrant red. His long jeans tangled around his bare feet making him stumble. The others had to admit that it was a bit odd to see the usually graceful teenager stumble.

"Not now," he panted out as they entered a new cabin.

Percy slammed the door shut behind them and cut through mechanical opening mechanism. That women had been chasing them down the length of the train her husband and child hot on their heels. The scarce array of passengers on the train had cast them odd looks, but Thalia had quickly fixed that problem with a click of her fingers. The mist easily made it look as if it were just children running through the isle.

Panting slightly, the son of Poseidon looked at the cabin. It was empty due to the fact it was the dining cart. According to the menus, the cart wouldn't open for a further hour, leaving them to have it too themselves. Thalia moved quickly and ran to the other door, easily ruining the opening mechanism on it. Nothing could get in. Or out.

"I think they're a couple carriages behind us," Grover panted and leant on his knees.

"What are they?" Thalia questioned.

Jack leant against the wall, bracing himself on his knees, "they're chaos spirits," he said between deep breaths.

"As in creator of the whole universe Chaos?" Percy asked as he swept his hair out of his eyes.

"No," Jack straightened up a little, "they're just called that. They have real names I never bothered to learn. They're our opposites. I bring snow, blizzards and whatnot. I always keep it in control- well except for '68- they're the ones who cause the deaths. They start bushfires, droughts and those kinds of things."

"So they're the evil siblings?" Percy mused as he glanced through the glass at the other carriage. They hadn't caught up- yet.

"Basically," Jack surveyed the area, "they were making the cabin warm-"

"But it was cold in there," Thalia argued.

"They absorbed the heat from the air. You didn't feel the heat because you didn't know they existed- you saw them as normal people. That's how they become strong, by absorbing heat, well, these ones anyway," Jack wiped his brow before clapping his hands together, "if I freeze this cabin, it'll become too cold for them, and they should leave us alone."

"_Should_," Grover repeated, "I don't like the sound of that."

"In theory it works," Jack blew onto his hands, "they usually leave me alone."

"Why?" Thalia questioned as she fingered her dagger.

"They fear Man in the Moon," Jack pushed his hands out in front of him and closed his eyes, "Man in Moons power is within me."

Instantly the temperature seemed to drop a couple degrees. Snow began to appear out of now where and fall from above them. If it hadn't been needed for the sake of saving their lives, Percy certainly would've found it pretty. The snow fell thicker and thicker while the temperature continued to drop. The three Demigods shivered and began attempting to warm themselves up.

"They're coming," Percy wiped frost from the window between carriages to see the three heat absorbing creatures standing near the end of the other carriage, "but they're not coming nearer."

"To cold, I told you," Jack's voice was strained.

The starch white colour that made up the majority of Jack's hair was slowly being replaced with a chocolate brown colour. It was as if the white was dripping out of existence to reveal the brown. It was an oddly beautiful sight; it was like watching icicles on a tree melt.

"Why did they even attack us if they fear your power?" Thalia queried as she rubbed her arms vigorously.

"Because I'm losing that power. It's his power that keeps me immortal," Jack looked physically strained now, "I'm becoming mortal. To them I'm probably nothing more than a sprite."

"Are they the things that killed the other sprites then?" Percy questioned.

"They're idiots. If they were killing sprites, they'd need someone to lead them," Jack's knees gave out and he landed on the snowy floor, hands breaking his fall, "they have to have a leader."

"You okay?" Grover shuffled towards Jack.

"Fine," Jack chuckled, "boy, I haven't been this weak and uncoordinated since I first woke up."

"What's our plan?" Thalia asked as she crossed her arms.

"Ride this train out until the next stop. Then we get off and catch the next one," Jack flopped backwards into the snow, "this should hold them off."

"What about when mortals come looking for food?" Percy sat down on the snow and played with it absently.

Jack held up both his hands and instantly all the windows frosted over.

"They'll think that something's broken the door mechanisms. They can't see through and there's no camera's. We'll be fine," Jack sighed and nuzzled into the snow.

Thalia cast a glance at Percy, who shrugged and begun forming a ball of snow, while Grover joined him of the floor. Thalia tapped her foot a little impatiently before sitting down and beginning to pinch snow between her fingers.

"Your hair has more browner in it," Grover pointed out the Jack.

"If I'm turning mortal, I may as well look the part," Jack smiled tightly.

"So you used to have brown hair?" Percy tried to start conversation.

"And brown eyes," Jack nodded, "I was the all American teenager. Well, for that age. Actually I was a little different to others in that time."

"Why?" Thalia decided to join in.

"I was nearly eighteen, hadn't married, hadn't really taken an interest in anything. I suppose I was the families no hoper. Every family has one of those, right?" Jack's smile turned bright.

"Yes," Percy thought of all the gods, "more than one in our case."

"Yeah, that was me," Jack shrugged carelessly, "it was fun though. Who'd want to grow up, anyway?"

"I completely understand you on that part," Thalia laughed a little, "fifteen forever. Nothing better."

"Don't you ever think about what you're missing out on?" Percy asked, locking eyes with Jack, "just…growing up? Getting old?"

"Nah," Jack shifted around, "back in my time growing up meant getting married and hoping you lived long enough to turn forty."

Grover snorted slightly.

"So you've never thought about being mortal?" Percy seemed to be full of questions.

Sitting up, Jack shrugged, "sure, I mean, maybe it's a bit bad knowing you'll outlive people, but I'm just used to that."

"Does Nico ever mention anything?" the son of Poseidon had a look of pure concern, "because sometimes I worry…"

"Nico's fine. We all learn to adapt," Jack seemed to put an end to that conversation.

Percy quieted down after that. He was only partially content. The thought of Nico outliving him made him a little sad. Part of him didn't even want to think of it. It was the truth though. Nico would live lifetimes after him, well into the future, and hopefully live a happy life. Would Nico be alone after his current friends died? He had the Guardians; surely they would be company enough, because Nico did speak fondly of them on more than one occasion.

"Let's hope Nico will be able to find us again," Grover was rubbing his legs to get them warm, "if we switch trains he won't know that."

"He'll be able to find us. He always does," Thalia frowned at Grover, "besides if he comes, we might attract more of those things."

"Uh," Thalia stood up and stared at the door, "I think they might've gotten over their fear of the cold."

Jack turned and looked at the door. Surely enough the metal was slowly beginning to glow with heat. Those creatures must've sucked up a lot of heat be able to create flames hot enough to melt metals. He didn't want to think about the state of other occupants on the train- it was probably freezing in every carriage now.

"Ideas?" Grover pulled out his pipes and held them at the ready.

"Fight?" Percy suggested as he pulled his sword out and let it expand to its full length.

"No fighting," Jack jumped over to a chair and pulled out his metal staff. Slamming the butt of it against a window repeatedly until the glass smashed. Wind whipped into the cabin and the spirit of winter shouted for it to calm down, "we jump."

"We can't just leave these things on the train," Percy gazed at the door that was slowly beginning to shift in the frame as the heat ate through the metal, "they might hurt the mortals."

"They'll follow us," Jack beckoned the three of them over, "its cold out there. They'll follow, hit the snow, and hopefully freeze."

"I don't like the sound of the hopefully," Thalia muttered as she moved up to the window, "so just jump?"

"The wind will catch you," Jack nodded with an easy going smile.

"I better hope so," Thalia replied as she jumped out the window. Grover stepped up next and leant out the window. Jack smirked a little as he pushed his new friend out of the window.

"Come on," he said to Percy.

Percy looked from the door and back to the window before running and jumping smoothly out the window. The door was suddenly kicked in as the metal finally weakened enough. Jack gave a mock salute to the furious looking creature before dropping backwards out the window, the wind catching him and welcoming him back.

**I'm alive! I'm so sorry! Work and stuff's been keeping me busy. I'll try to update as much as I can before my mock exams in two weeks.**


	11. Hiatus

**I apologise sincerely as I will be going on hiatus. I just can't seem to write anymore and I would rather not write then ruin the whole story by posting bad chapters. Sincerest apologies.**


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